


Irreplaceable Love

by LunaDreamyKingdom



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Byleth is worried about her lack of heartbeat, Characters have a hobby of teasing the pair about their feelings towards one another, Crushes, Divine Pulse Deaths (Fire Emblem), F/M, Falling In Love, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Idiots in Love, My First Fanfic, My Unit | Byleth Has Emotions, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sylvain teases Dimitri a lot, Teasing, azure moon novelisation dimileth, based on azure moon route, chapters from both pre timeskip and post timeskip, crossposted from another site, dimileth, firstfic, kind of a novelisation, lots of fluff, otp, slowburn romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 95
Words: 166,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaDreamyKingdom/pseuds/LunaDreamyKingdom
Summary: -----Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd had faced hardships from being the sole survivor of the tragedy that occurred years ago. He only lived for revenge and so went to the Officer's Academy in order to get strong enough to get it.Meanwhile, Byleth Eisner was a normal mercenary that was now suddenly the Professor of the Blue Lion class. She was once known as "The Ashen Demon" due to her lack of emotions.Neither of them believed that it was possible for themselves to fall in love and so surrounded themselves in their own darkness as a result...After meeting each other however...that changed...Byleth and Dimitri never knew that the other would make such a huge impact on the other's life...and feel irreplaceable emotions that they never thought they could ever feel...-----2 Updates per week.Sorry, I’m a bit of a newbie writer and this was my first fanfic so I apologise for some mistakes I made in the past. Also I suck at summaries so yeah sorry about this. Feel free to leave feedback if there is something you think I should improve on.Thank you(:
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	1. A/N

**Author's Note:**

> Hello ao3 readers and fellow Dimileth fans. I apologise in advance for the some of the format used. I'm not used to using this site in comparison to what I used before but I'll try to improve. Anyways, I recommend for you all to read this A/N because this book could be slightly confusing if you don’t. However if you don’t want to read it and want to skip into reading the actual story then that’s fine too(:  
> And please bear with me, like I said before this was my first fic and I really would love to hear what you all think and if there is anything you think I should improve on because I’m aware that this fanfic isn’t perfect and I’m admittedly am not confident with it as much as I want to be so any feedback would honestly mean so much to me if I'm being honest. I just ask for you all to be respectful regardless of what your feedback is.
> 
> Ok boring note over lol. With all that said, I hope you enjoy reading my fanfic Irreplaceable Love! (:

Hello readers!! Thanks for clicking on my very first fanfic book, Irreplaceable Love! I know this might seem a bit annoying but I hope you allow me to give you some insight before you start to dig into the rest of this book.

\-----

So as you might already know, these are a few Female Byleth x Dimitri one shots and/or short stories piled up together in no particular order. Some of them take place pre time skip and post time skip. I will tell you before the story starts when this particular short story takes place. I'll also tell you if there are spoilers in a specific chapter so you can skip the chapter and move on to the next one since that next chapter most likely won't get a spoiler type of thing. The part will also mention if there is a particular part that references another part so you get the full context. This book is in third person because I do not enjoy overdoing limits if that makes sense.

Major spoilers for the BL route, potential spoilers for the other routes and the DLC (Ashen Wolves)

This is one of my first fanfictions, I know I'm not great but I hopefully will improve. I'm not very confident when it comes to publishing stories to the public because I always think of negative outcomes which is admittedly a bad habit. You can give me criticism and I will appreciate criticism but I beg you to please try not to sound... well you know... too harsh or rude.

As of right now, it’s a work in progress fanfic and things are bound to change in previous chapters (especially the post time skip chapters) so do please keep that in mind when reading.

This fanfic was inspired by my favourite fanfic of all time that's called Twenty Five Hours. It's not a fire emblem fanfic if you were wondering, it's a Persona 3 fanfic and it's on Fanfiction.net but I really, really love it! It was so amazing and beautiful.... God I laughed, I cried... I felt more emotions than I should have. It was so good! If it wasn't for her fantastically written book, this one wouldn't even exist right now. One of the main reasons I did write this is so I could give people the same feelings and inspiration to write like she did for me! ❤

Irreplaceable Love started on September 11th, 2019 and was originally going to contain all moments both before and after Byleth and Dimitri get in a relationship but this fanfic got really long and it wouldn't feel right to do so anymore. Instead on June 18th 2020, I announced that the last chapter would be the coronation day which is a day after Dimitri proposes to byleth and everything else that takes place will be in a sequel fanfic called "Legendary Tales" and unlike Irreplaceable Love, the chapters will be in order. I also apologise to the new readers that read the author notes at the beginning. They haven't aged well but I cannot remove them because it would be too difficult for reasons I can't explain. I'm very sorry.

I also just realised that I never addressed this so I will do so immediately. This book has some headcanons while sticking with the canonical storyline and various other things. For example, the headcanons and interpretations will include stuff like characters mentioning their favourite type of flowers if it was never actually mentioned in the game. They may like irises more than sunflowers for example. Shamir and Alois like cats and that’s actually canon due to their tea time conversations. (If you have any questions about what I said here, please let me know!)

\-----

So Fire Emblem Three Houses has finally been released after what feels like forever. It was so difficult to not watch previews from game critics and the sort which came out a few weeks and/or days before it launched. It was... painful to say the least but it's out and I've finally played the most out of it. I started with Golden Deer first then blue lions, then Edelgard's Route. I finally finished the church route two months after I first wrote this story.

I won't lie, my favourite house leader is Claude and I am always a golden deer at heart but I cannot deny that Blue Lions felt more touching and emotional. Dimitri was a character that I admittedly didn't find all that appealing pre release but after that emotional route with him, I never thought he'd end up being my second favourite character in the game (Claude being first) and the interactions he had with Byleth were really beautiful in my opinion. I ended up marrying him in the end and I definitely ship him with Byleth more than anyone else.

\-----

Like I said before, this was my first fanfiction ever and I'll admit that I'm a bit insecure. Despite that though, this shouldn't hold you all back from commenting criticism especially if it's a major issue! Like for example...if an arc makes no sense or if I overdid certain scenes or whatever else I did wrong, please don't hesitate to point it out! When I asked to stay polite I mean just please try to be respectful, that's all I ask(:

\-----

Anyways this is PG13. Of course there will be battles in this fanfic because... It IS a Fire Emblem book after all. I will also warn you that certain characters from the other classes may/might get killed off (not all of them though, heck some even join the BL house) in the post timeskip. There won't be that much cursing either, the worse you will find are either "bastard", "hell" or "crap". Before you ask, yes you are allowed to swear in the comments despite the lack of swearing in the story lol

Also I won't be writing smut however there is sexual references (especially in the sequel) but it's kind of subtle aha.

\-----

The non BL students that are joining the BL class and will be in the parts are the following characters: Dorothea, Petra, Marianne, Raphael, Caspar, Hilda, Yuri & Hapi. All of the church staff will also be in which includes Manuela and Hanneman.

There may be OCs too but only villains, actual confirmed characters like siblings that characters mentioned having in game and etc. A good example is Holst whom is Hilda's brother but he never showed up in the game, he was only described. Oh yeah and is Holst appearing in this fic? Hmmm I guess you'll just have to wait and see ;)

And for clarification, Petra joined the Blue Lion house after Chapter 6 and before Chapter 7. Hapi, Dorothea & Yuri joined the Blue Lion house after Chapter 7 and before chapter 8. Marianne joined the Blue Lion house after chapter 8 and before chapter 9. Raphael joined the Blue Lion house after chapter 9 and before chapter 10. Caspar and Hilda joined the Blue Lion house after chapter 10 and before chapter 11.

\-----

There are also some rewrites of chapters but not all of them are being rewritten. The chapters that are being rewritten are the following: Chapter 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22\. The same will go for Paralogues. Most of the ones that are available in the BL route have been done and have happened but the only ones that will be rewritten in this book are the following: War for the Weak, Rumoured Nuptials, The Forgotten, Sword and Shield of Seiros, Tales of the Red Canyon, True Chivalry, Weathervanes of Fodlan, Forgotten Hero, The Face Beneath & The Silver Maiden. However other paralogues and other chapters for example parts talking about the events in chapter 7 or references to Seteth & Flayn's paralogue will exist so be careful.

^^Now despite rewriting, I'd like to clarify something. Yes, I will stick with the canon storyline and with the original dialogue from the game when rewriting but I will also write scenes in between the canon scenes. It will also describe how certain characters are feeling/thinking during that moment/scene.

And now to clarify Byleth in this story because I'm not sure if I made it clear when I wrote this book so I'll clarify in case it isn't clear. She is pretty reserved until after the events that take place in chapter six (when rescuing Flayn). After that chapter, she starts to show more emotions after spending time with students (especially Dimitri) and as time passes which helps her become genuinely more happy and open overtime and she is even a bit of tease. On top of that she is also kind and compassionate but also a bit hostile towards Rhea for certain reasons that you'll figure out when you read this book. She is also pretty reckless in battle sometimes, can lose her temper even in unjustifiable situations, even misuses divine pulse (which in his fanfic, if she overuses divine pulse, she gets weak and can even faint), insecure about her lack of heartbeat and makes mistakes. I mean she is still human after all lol. Thanks to Dimitri and the Blue Lions, she gains more emotions and new ones too. That is why she is happy and open. Dimitri in particular, unintentionally helped her experience an emotion that I'm sure you all can guess what it is lol. Regardless though, most of her canon traits of her character (like apparently she is really happy when she is eating with her students in the dining hall) will be present here.

This fanfic was originally on a different site but now I will be posting on ao3 and the original site I was posting on before.

Also huge announcement. There will be a sequel once I've completed this book and completed the events before the end of the war. Unlike this book, the sequel will be in order and the first chapter of it will take place right after the last chapter of Irreplaceable Love which is the Coronation Day (which is a day after Dimitri proposes). It isn't out yet and most likely won't be for a while but I hope your all excited for it too. :)

Anyways, Thanks for Reading! I hope you enjoy my short stories of this sweet pairing. ♥


	2. That Fateful Meeting

\-----

The beginning of the game.

\-----

_This day... who knew that it changed destiny and fate for two?_

_The day that these two beings first met and the start of their Irreplaceable Love from here._

_The day that changed both of their lives forever and they would've never realised it until many years later..._

That day was in Great Tree Moon, Year 1180.

The beginning was... Well It was kind of a weird beginning but to put it more simply...

Bandits were chasing after three students who were also the leaders of their class/house.

One student named Edelgard, one student named **Dimitri** and one named Claude.

Claude ran and the other two followed.

There were mercenaries nearby and so the students had no choice but to ask for their assistance. They found two mercenaries, an old looking man and a **young girl** with blue hair. This young girl seems to be about their age. From the way the old looking mercenary talks to the blue haired girl, it seems like she is his daughter and that daughter's name was **Byleth**.

The old man didn't seem to be thrilled about the bandits or the students for that matter but he and his daughter assisted them as much as they could.

All three students were stunned and surprised at how skilled these two mercenaries were. Especially since the daughter was around their age and made the three house leaders look weak in comparison.

Later on, Alois recommended her to the church to be a professor, which she ended up being a professor for the monastery. She had to choose one house out of three houses to lead. To Dimitri's surprise, she ended up choosing his house.

The Blue Lion house...

For that moon, Byleth and her class trained for the upcoming mock battle between the three classes.

And then, after winning the first mock battle, there was a victory celebration in the dining hall. Everyone seemed so happy and overjoyed.

Well except for the professor. She didn't really show much emotion even though they won. In fact she never did show any emotions for the first few moons. Back then, she seemed to be emotionless almost all the time and Dimitri could never tell what she was thinking. It made him feel a bit unnerved.

Little did either know though, that the other would become so important to them...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Introduction is up yay (don't worry, not all of them are this short). Feel free to share criticism (but please stay kind, after all I have never done something like this before and I feel pretty nervous to even submit this)
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this little beginning part.


	3. Heartwarming Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, takes place sometime between chapter 7 and chapter 8. Taking place on the twelfth of the Red Wolf Moon. References Sylvain and Dimitri's C Support.
> 
> \-----

\-----

_Byleth was never one to show emotions that much._

This was always unknown to everyone why she never showed emotions. Not even her own father knew why.

However she's noticed that she's shown her emotions more ever since she came to the monastery. This was witnessed by many people around her. Whenever she showed happy expressions around everyone, they seem to love it.

Dimitri was no exception to loving her smiles. When he first saw her smile, he was stunned and even teased her about it. He found her smile... unforgettable to say the least.

So he decided to invite her to lunch with him on the same table in the dining hall one day and gets their favourite food. Sylvain also decided to join with them. Dimitri wasn't too fond of that idea but Sylvain promised he'd behave which gave the gullible house leader no choice but to let him eat lunch with them.

Byleth thanked the two of them for accompanying her and the three started eating their food.

Sylvain noticed that Dimitri kept glancing at Byleth, checking to see if she would change her expressions. Sylvain realised what Dimitri was trying to see and decided to tease.

"You know Professor, It's not everyday Dimitri is fascinated in seeing someone's smile so I gotta say you must have made some type of impact" Sylvain teased smugly.

Dimitri glared at him while Sylvain just smirks back at him. Byleth looks all confused. 

"What do you mean by that Sylvain?" Byleth asked.

Dimitri blurts out. "S-Sylvain is just being silly, it's probably his way of... uh... starting up a conversation" and shoots another glare at his smug friend.

Sylvain doesn't listen to Dimitri's glares and starts to tease them both more. "So... you don't like seeing the professor smiling then?" which irritates Dimitri more. However it surprisingly made the professor look all curious.

"I- Sylvain I never said that I didn't like seeing her smile! Why on earth are you asking such ridiculous questions?!" Dimitri said back.

"Well your highness, do you like seeing the professor smile? Do you find her smile heart warming?" He said teasingly and with massive smirk on his face which both humiliates and annoys Dimitri.

Dimitri replies with "Why on earth are you asking such ridiculous questions? Besides I highly doubt the professor would be interested in know how I think of her smile?"

Byleth surprisingly requested "Actually, I'm kind of curious myself Dimitri to know if you think my smile is heart warming or not." 

Sylvain looks as if he is trying his hardest not to burst out laughing especially with an embarrassed Dimitri sitting next to him. "Even the professor wants to know how you feel about her smile... Come on your highness, tell her."

Dimitri was extremely embarrassed but it seems like there was no way out of this situation. "Her smile is... heart warming alright? I... I like her smile"

Byleth smiled at the praise but did slightly stutter "T-thank you for the compliment" 

It surprised both of them at the end but it made Dimitri happy to see her happy in the end. They all continued with their meal.

During their meal though, Sylvain teasingly whispered to Dimitri _"Your Highness I have a tiny little suggestion.. How about you give her a dagger? I'm sure she will smile just like the girl you gave a dagger to many years ago did!"_

Sylvain snickered which had Dimitri kick Sylvain's leg under the table.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Alrighty! This was fun to write (though let me know If I made them out of character, If so, I apologise for that and I'll try to avoid that in the future) 
> 
> Sylvain is hilarious and about the dagger... Yeah you have to at least watch his C support with Dimitri (or go to the ball day in Dimitri's route and he'll mention it)
> 
> Anyways please let me know if you liked it and want more, I'll try my best to do the next page at some point. My birthday is tomorrow so It's nice to publish this fanfic the day before my birthday :) (Also just so you know, the first three pages are being published on the same day because I wanted to first publish this story on an type of impression)
> 
> And just in case your from the future... If so hi! but well if you wanted to know the date as I published these parts, it was September 11th and my birthday is well... September 12th lol. It's a nice thing to publish this the day before your birthday. Speaking of birthdays however... Expecting a short story about a few characters' birthdays! :D
> 
> Please give me some feedback and once again, If you have criticism please let me know but please be nice (I mean in the way you say it I guess). If you want more Sylvain let me know, this was fun to write so I'll definitely add in more teasing (If you don't then let me know too I guess, I'll get rid of some then lol) 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this and please once again comment what you thought <3
> 
> (FYI: AO3 Readers, I apologise for this cringeworthy author's note from last year but I kept these because I didn't think it would be fair to exclude it lol :/)


	4. Washing Dishes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heyo guys! sorry for the long wait but heres a new part! 
> 
> Just giving you a heads up, this short story focuses on Dimitri's dislike for fragile objects (Check out "Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Welcome to the Blue Lion House - Nintendo Switch" video on youtube and you'll see that Dimitri dislikes fragile objects) and I wanted to write a short story between him and Byleth that showcases it. I'm not entirely sure why I want to do it so badly though.
> 
> Anyways, I'll shut up now and I hope you enjoy reading this! I'll talk more about future short story plans, after this story! :D
> 
> \-----

\-----

_Dimitri hates fragile objects._

He hates them simply because he always accidentally breaks them. Give him anything fragile and then... it suddenly breaks whenever he uses them.

He can't even learn to sew right because he always breaks the needles and scissors. When Mercedes (AKA known as the best sewer in the class) tried to teach him how to sew, he'd always somehow mess up and unintentionally break everything. 

He also struggles with washing dishes and holding them because they sometimes slip from his hands 

But mostly...He smashes them again by accident...due to his ridiculous Blaiddyd strength.

However this doesn't stop him from wanting to get better at managing fragile objects especially since the professor is stronger than him and can handle fragile things without issue. He wants to get better at managing them and such so he can stop himself from accidentally breaking them all the time...

He started to wonder if maybe he should ask Byleth to help him manage such fragile stuff? Like teach him how to clean the dishes or something of the sort since she was so good at handling them.

On the first Saturday afternoon, he decided to go and ask Byleth since that was his only free day (and the fact that no one was using the dining hall). He was trying to find her and decided to look in the training grounds. 

Unfortunately he didn't find her in the training grounds but he did however find his childhood friends, Ingrid and Sylvain. 

Well Felix was also there of course but he wasn't involved in whatever Ingrid and Sylvain were talking about... 

When he found Sylvain and Ingrid talking or rather... Ingrid scolding Sylvain judging from their facial expressions they're making from the distance (not to mention he could hear Ingrid's loud angry sounding voice she'd normally make towards Sylvain if he acted reckless again), he went over to them.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation but have either of you guys seen the professor? If so, do you know where she is?" Dimitri said calmly.

This startled both of them especially Ingrid. Sylvain got over it quickly and started to teasingly smirk towards Dimitri. "Why? Does his highness want to ask the professor to be... his date for the ball that is coming up later this month?" and then winks at Dimitri.

Dimitri gets flustered and his face goes slightly red. He also gives Sylvain a glare "I-I what? What on earth gave you such an odd conclusion?" he blurted out.

Before Sylvain could answer, Ingrid angrily steps on Sylvain's foot very hard. It must have been painful because Sylvain made a face that basically explained it.

"I'm sorry your Highness, please ignore Sylvain's idiocy. I saw the professor talking to Claude somewhere in the courtyard" Ingrid said to Dimitri.

"Claude?" Dimitri asked, a bit confused why she would be talking to Claude.

Sylvain recovered from the pain and decided to tease again.

"Yeah she's talking to Claude! Wait... don't tell me... Are you jeeeaaalous of Claude your high- OW! Ingrid! I was just kidding I swear" Sylvain's teasing was interrupted by Ingrid's stomping on his foot again.

Ingrid sighs. "Well I hope I helped you find the professor your highness." Ingrid says in her irritated tone.

Dimitri thanked Ingrid and then she gave Sylvain another one of her of lectures on his behaviour. He then made his way to the courtyard. 

Turns out Ingrid was correct about Byleth talking to Claude and then made his way up to them. 

Claude sees Dimitri and alerts Byleth. "Hey Teach, I think his Princeliness needs to speak with you." 

Byleth and Claude both face Dimitri.

"Pardon me, am I interrupting anything?" Dimitri asks

"Nah don't worry about it, me and teach were pretty much done talking anyways" Claude says in his usual tone

"Is there something you needed Dimitri?" Byleth asks in confusion

"Ah yes but..." Dimitri then faces Claude

Claude noticed what Dimitri was trying to say and says with major enthusiasm "Ah so his Royalness and teach need to have a private discussion. I shall take my leave then" and then Claude leaves the two of them. 

"So what was it you needed Dimitri?" Byleth asked

Dimitri Asks Byleth "Do you have time to spare this afternoon?"

Byleth responded with "I believe so, I've got a bit of spare time on me... Why?" 

Dimitri was realising how awkward this question was to ask anybody to help him with (especially asking it out loud) but he proceeds. "well uh... I d-didn't want to say this in front of Claude because... U-um this is a bit embarrassing but could you help me... clean the dishes? I uh... kind of want to get better at handling fragile objects" 

Byleth gave him a confused look. "uh... clean the dishes?"

Dimitri was getting more embarrassed which caused him to stutter a little "Yeah... I-I uh... well I think I need to get better with handling fragile objects..." Dimitri pauses and loses eye contact with Byleth due to embarrassment but then proceeds "This is kind of a consequence of having physical strength you see. I always break them whenever I use or hold anything fragile, like when Mercedes tried to teach me how to sew since she was so good at it, I... kept breaking the scissors... and since your stronger but yet... you can handle fragile objects with such ease. Also um... plates are fragile and I admittedly struggle... trying to not accidentally break them. Since you have spare time and the dining hall is empty at the moment despite the amount of dishes uncleaned, could you help me out with handing, or rather teach me how to handle fragile stuff?"

Byleth found this favour to be quite odd but she was happy to help Dimitri with this problem "Ok, sure, should we now head to the dining hall and start when we get there?"

"Ah yes, I think we should head there now... Thank you professor, I very much appreciate it and um... I apologise if this is a bother at all" Dimitri said to Byleth

"Don't worry Dimitri, It isn't a bother at all. I'm happy to help!" Byleth said with a smile which surprises Dimitri but calms him down. 

So they both head to the dining hall and make their way to the kitchen. Where the messy dishes are...

Once they got to the kitchen and got all the dirty dishes out, Dimitri made an uncertain type of expression on his face.

"Um.. Professor let me warn you again that... I may need a lot of help with this. There is a chance I might not even ever get better with them" Dimitri blurts out.

Byleth gives Dimitri a smile in hopes of reassuring him. "Don't worry I'll help you as much as you need! I'm sure you'll be able to handle them with great ease... eventually!" 

Despite Byleth's smile, It didn't make Dimitri feel better when she said the word eventually but nevertheless they started picking up the dishes.

***SMASH***

The plate Dimitri already broke due to him being a bit careless when picking it up and forgetting that it was fragile

"...I broke one already" Dimitri says as he looks down on the plate that had broken parts all over the floor. 

"That was rather... quick but I'm sure I can help you Dimitri!" Byleth responded with confidence.

\-----

2 HOURS LATER (basically after Dimitri broke a ton of plates)

\-----

"Erm look Dimitri, I think it is getting a bit late, I think... we should call it off for the day... besides most of the plates have been cleaned anyways." Byleth says 

"Ugh I'm so sorry Professor, I'm really not cut out for this... sort of thing. It's quite embarrassing to be perfectly honest that something like this is a weakness of mine. I apologise for my... ridiculous clumsiness." Dimitri apologised and was looking down on the ground. 

Dimitri broke... a lot of plates, It can even be hard for some to believe that it was even an accident despite being an accident.

Professor clearly overestimated his abilities with being able to handle anything fragile or delicate. "Oh no uh... don't worry Dimitri.. It wasn't... bad for a first attempt?" Byleth to said in attempt to calm him down and make him feel better.

Unfortunately for them both though, those words did not make Dimitri feel better at all and Byleth realised this. 

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "I appreciate your efforts professor but maybe... maybe I shouldn't bother with stuff like this anymore..." 

Despite saying that however, it didn't seem like Byleth was going to let him give up.

"No Dimitri, It isn't really like you to give up so easily, I'm sure you'll be able to handle fragile stuff and then you'll be able to clean the dishes without issue! ...How about we do this again next moon since I have a lot of spare time on each Sunday for that moon? How about it? Do you have any spare time then and if so... Would you like to try again? I'm sure you can do it! You should believe in yourself a bit more Dimitri!"

Dimitri smiled at the professor and gained back his confidence "Yes I do believe I have some time to spare next moon, though there is a chance we'd have to change when we can do it depending on what our mission may be for the moon... and I'd be happy to do it with you again but... Are you sure I won't be a burden? I don't seem to be getting any better at handling anything... delicate of the sort..."

Byleth shook her head. "No you're not being a burden at all and as I said I'm happy to help. You do have a point about next moon but how about we just do it whenever we both have free time on a Sunday?"

Dimitri smiles and thanked the professor, "That sounds perfectly fine Professor and... Thank you so much Professor..." 

They both went their own seperate ways for the day after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologise for the long wait, sorry about that, had some stuff going on. 
> 
> But can I just say thank you all so much for the support and to those who gave me feedback, thank you so much. Please continue with feedback (including criticism but like I said last time, please try not to be harsh or rude)
> 
> Oh yeah and please let me know if I made any major mistakes in this page that needs to be addressed or if the short story sounds confusing of the sort. I'll clear it up =) and you also might have noticed this page was really long compared to the other one, oops but hey I hope you enjoy it regardless aha.
> 
> Also, even though I already answered this question I got in the comments last page, I will repeat it here. Yes other characters from the other houses will show up to help build the relationship between Dimitri and Byleth. Feel free to request any character from the other houses (Like request any character from GD, BL, BE or even any character from the church). You also may have noticed that Claude, Sylvain and Ingrid were in this briefly, let me know if you want me to put them in more often (though you guys seemed to have liked Sylvain in the previous part so... expect to see him more in these stories :D)
> 
> And as I said before this story started... I plan on publishing more short stories/oneshots about these two this month since I didn't do much last month. I'll try to get the next one published before next Friday! 
> 
> Anyways I'm going to stop writing and play some Rune Factory because its fun to play. Hope you all have a good one and thank you all so much for the support <3


	5. Joketelling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre time skip, takes place after chapter 6 and sometime before chapter 7. Takes place after C support between Alois and Dimitri. Takes place after B support between Petra and Alois. Takes place on the 3rd of Wyvern Moon.
> 
> \-----

A/N: Hey guys, here's another part like I promised!

Ok forgive me for rambling but this is important to understand... so this is a part with Alois and takes place after his C support with Dimitri and it also takes place after his B support with Petra. However it's during a month that takes place before Alois is recruitable but I honestly feel like it's the only way this story can work (unless I make this a post time skip one but that would be way to late in game for this story to make sense and It feels right for this story to come earlier) so I'm going to have to pretend here that it happened. Sorry about this, I'll try to avoid inconsistencies like this in future stories. Alois won't be recruited here at this point though, he'll just be lending a hand with Byleth's class in some random mission on a Saturday that month. If you are confused, please let me know so I can do a better job at explaining things.

Oh yeah and I wanted to add Petra to this one because I felt like she would have been a nice addition. 

Anyways I hope you enjoy this story. Sorry if its confusing and/or not well written, I'll try to avoid that in the future (especially since another joketelling story with Alois, Byleth & Dimitri will probably happen at one point or another)

\-----

_Dimitri wasn't known much for humour._

Byleth wasn't oblivious to this fact. She had seen Dimitri chuckle a few times including earlier that moon when he teased her about her smile but she never saw and/or heard him properly laugh.

Of course the same could be said for her on how she hasn't been heard or seen laughing that often but people (for example, Sylvain or his other friends) were more reluctant to point out Dimitri's humour or rather, 'so called lack of humour. 

However just like how she never ceases to surprise Dimitri, he never ceased to surprise her this moon. When she heard a long, happy and genuine laugh from him for the first time, after one of their battles.

What happened was, Alois insisted on helping out her and her class out on a battle they went on that given month.

And of course... Alois's strength was very useful in that battle and the battle ended up being a success.

"Great Job everyone! You did really well out there, I see that the professor taught you all really well. Good thing I recommended her to the church haha" Alois said proudly to everyone.

"Thank you very much Alois but I have to say, you did an amazing job yourself!" Annette said in high spirits towards Alois.

"Yes I must agree with Annette, you're very skilled. I can see how you got into the knights of Seiros" Dimitri nodded.

Alois was feeling a bit embarrassed. "Ah Thank you but I uh do think your exaggerating a bit."

Felix says in his usual tone "The boar prince doesn't usually just say that someone is that skilled often. The last time the Boar said something like that was when the professor first came here. I wouldn't mind sparring with you some time since you did seem pretty skilled out there in battle."

Alois looked at Felix in confusion, unsure of who this "boar" is. "Boar...?"

Dimitri whispered to Alois. "Felix has a sharp tongue and always calls me Boar or Boar Prince"

Alois found an opportunity to let out one of his jokes which he guarantees will make Dimitri laugh longer than last time... Just as he promised Dimitri back then that he would.

So then he turned his head towards Felix.

"Felix I must say, that is the most **unboarable** name I've ever heard. I mean seriously, It's a very **boaring** name."

Everyone went silent. 

Everyone went awkwardly silent...

Ingrid whispers to Sylvain "....uh do you know... if that was meant to be a joke?"

Sylvain whispers back to Ingrid "......Not even I can tell"

Felix threw out a massive sigh and face palmed at the joke.

Byleth said nothing because she wasn't sure how to respond to this... conversation.

Petra was about to say something but then a big laugh came out from someone, startling everyone. 

Especially Byleth and Dedue 

Dimitri bursted out laughing "Alois your jokes are just- I can't-"

His sentence was interrupted by his own laughter...

Dedue stared at Dimitri with his eyes widened. "Your highness?"

Felix looking down at Dimitri in disappointment "You... laughed at that? How pathetic of you..." 

Felix then suggests to the professor that they should head back to the monastery which she nodded in return. Felix did notice that her startled gaze stayed on Dimitri entirely but ignored it and everyone started (including Alois and Dimitri) heading off. 

Dimitri however was still laughing at Alois's jokes and was praising Alois for them the entire trip back to the monastery. However he wasn't the only one praising his jokes.

Petra was amazed. She clapped her hands and praised Alois. "Wow you made him laugh! Please Alois, you must teach me more on Fodlan's play on words, am in fascina- oh err, I'm fascinated in this. I have certainty that people of Brigid will be fascinated in them too."

Alois did not look like he agreed with Petra on the people of Brigid being fascinated in his terrible jokes. In fact, he thinks its quite the opposite. He thinks they'll hate it and get quickly annoyed with it just like most people he's met that he told his jokes to. 

Everyone was ignoring the conversation that Petra and Dimitri was having with Alois due to irritation.

However Byleth listened the whole time and even threw a smile towards Dimitri despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her and focused his gaze on Alois. She was happy to hear him laugh long and happily like that for the first time in quite a while.

Although Petra then noticed her smiling towards Dimitri.

"Dimitri? I think the professor needs to talk to you about something." Petra said to Dimitri.

Dimitri looks at the professor and sees that she is smiling towards him. However when she realised that he met her gaze, she looked away and started a conversation with other students.

\-----


	6. Get Some Rest!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, takes place before chapter eight and takes place after chapter seven. Takes place on the fifth of the Red Wolf Moon. Also takes place after Byleth and Mercedes' C Support and before the part "Heartwarming smile".
> 
> \-----

_Byleth sometimes pushes herself a bit too hard._

Around 2 moons ago, Mercedes advised the professor to take care of herself, to not push herself too hard trying to be a good role model for her own students. She was worried that the professor might be working too hard and not having enough rest. 

Byleth thanked Mercedes for the advice but told her there was nothing to worry about. Mercedes didn't believe her at the time but didn't say anything. 

However she wished she did because she realised that this moon, the professor seemed to be acting quite... sleepy. It was also reported by a few others, she was also seen going back to her room very late and a lot later than usual.

She realised that the professor had been lacking sleep and been pushing herself too hard that month. She confronted the professor about it but the professor continued to deny it. Mercedes tried to think of an option.

One day, a few hours after class, Mercedes was lost in thought and seem to look very concerned. This didn't go unnoticed by Dimitri. He was confused to see what the girl was concerned about.

Dimitri went over to Mercedes and asked her "Mercedes? Is there something troubling you?"

This seemed to have startled Mercedes since it kind of came out of nowhere.

"Oh Dimitri! Hello, sorry you startled me a little..." Mercedes said to him

Dimitri apologised "Ah.. my apologies Mercedes, I didn't mean to startle you but I noticed you seem concerned and out of thought... Is something bothering you?"

There was a bit of a long pause until Dimitri broke the silence "Oh but uh.. You don't have to tell me if you don't-"

Dimitri was interrupted by Mercedes "Thanks Dimitri, I hate to admit but... there is something bothering me"

"Well I hope you don't mind me asking but what exactly is bothering you and would you like me to do something about?" Dimitri asked

Mercedes smiles and quickly answered his question. "I don't mind" 

Mercedes hesitates but continued. "It's just... the professor"

Dimitri seemed a bit more alarmed but was also confused. "The... Professor?"

Mercedes continues "Have you noticed she seemed... you know a bit more, I guess drowsy or even overworked this month?"

There was a bit of a long pause. Dimitri was thinking about her behaviour and realised that she was right. The professor did seem to be pretty exhausted this month.

"I... have noticed, yes" Dimitri looks down

"I'm just feeling concerned that she is pushing herself too hard and she's getting a lack of sleep from it. I confronted her about but she denied it. However I can tell she's just saying that to not let me worry. I also have heard reports about her training in the training grounds, cleaning up certain places and the sort, really late in the night. I'm worried about her and for her health.." Mercedes said anxiously.

Dimitri had no idea that she was staying up so late and doing all of that work. Sure he never went in some places in the monastery at night but he is doubtful of her being there. He couldn't really believe this concern Mercedes had and thinks Mercedes is exaggerating.

"I have no doubt that the professor is working hard and I admit that her drowsy behaviour isn't normal for her but I haven't seen her at the monastery during night at all. I don't think she'd go far enough to lose sleep to just be helpful. Maybe that was just a rumour you might have heard?" Dimitri asked

Mercedes still had a concerned look on her face despite Dimitri's attempt at reassurance "But Dimitri, why else would she be this drowsy? I can't really think of any other reason..."

Mercedes seemed to have acted even more concerned than before which resulted to Dimitri sighing in defeat and giving in "Alright well, how about I check everywhere around the monastery tonight to see if these rumours are true?"

Mercedes got startled "Oh dear... Dimitri, I... hope it isn't too much trouble!"

Dimitri shook his head and smiled reassuringly "No don't worry, it's no trouble at all."

Mercedes gave him a grateful smile and thanked him for it.

\-----

Midnight arrived much faster than anyone would have expected... Dimitri decided to quietly look around the monastery to see if anyone (other than guards) were around. If he couldn't find anyone (specifically Byleth) then he will immediately go and rest for the night. So he went from looking around the training grounds to the library. 

However after a little while of looking at the majority of the monastery, he realised that he hadn't checked in the officers academy area. So he decided to look there and looked in the classroom.

He wish he could debunk these "rumours"

Unfortunately, he couldn't after seeing her in the officers academy.

Byleth was sitting at her desk and taking notes from certain type of magic books. Just like when he last saw her.

...

_Just like when he last saw her...?_

Dimitri was getting concerned just like Mercedes was and couldn't stop any of his thoughts from coming in "Has she... even left this room?"

Byleth hadn't noticed that Dimitri had even walked in but mainly because he was being quiet even when looking around in the monastery. 

He called out to her (not loud enough for others to hear but loud enough for Byleth to hear) "Professor...?" 

This immediately caught her off guard and startled her. She lifted her head up and she let go of the book and pencil. 

She was sitting at her desk, surprised to see Dimitri "D-Dimitri uh... What are you doing here and why are you up so late?"

Byleth immediately regretted asking that second question because he asked the same question right after. "I could ask the same to you Professor! What are you doing here, working so late and have you been doing this every night?"

Byleth attempts to protest but she couldn't really find any excuse and sighed in defeat "I'm sorry Dimitri but I have work I need to do and the sort. Don't worry about me."

Then she went back to take notes down from her spell book.

This didn't convince Dimitri and well Byleth didn't think it would "No professor, I have a feeling you've been overworking yourself too much and have been getting a lack of sleep because of it"

There was a bit of long pause because Byleth was lost in thought. She then broke the silence when she realised who might've told Dimitri about this "Mercedes asked you to do this didn't she..." 

She gave out a long sigh before Dimitri even had the chance to respond. "Tell her there is nothing to be worried about because there isn't really."

Dimitri looked a bit irritated because of the professor's persistence on trying to deny everything "Professor please just get some rest, you don't have to do keep overloading yourself, its unhealthy."

Byleth just kept denying "I'm fine Dimitri, I've already had plenty of rest!" 

Dimitri was still unconvinced "How much rest have you had professor and what time do you plan on going to rest yourself?!"

There was a long awkward pause until Byleth finally said something "...I've had uh... a lot of rest and I normally go to sleep around um... earlier than this but I'm working late because I've got more work to do than usual!"

"Listen I do not intend to sound rude when I say this Professor but I'm very doubtful of that. Mercedes heard reports from some of the guards that you have been seen working around the monastery at later times. She's also heard you've been doing chores that no one asked you to do..." Dimitri said to her seriously.

Byleth couldn't think of anymore excuses and it was pretty evident on her face. She stopped denying and finally confessed "...I guess you've caught me. Yes it's true I have been working later than I used to, but I-"

Byleth was interrupted by Dimitri. "Professor please don't do this to yourself. Don't have the feeling you need to keep up an example, we all would rather you just stay well rested and overload yourself too much. We are all look up to you and I don't think thats going to change no matter what. However We all want you to stay healthy. You know it's unhealthy to keep overloading yourself with work, doing that much work late at night, helping everyone when they don't need it and training way too hard. Please professor we all see you more than just our teacher but we also see you as our friend. I for one, think even more of you than just as a friend"

This caught them both off guard. Dimitri didn't intentionally add that last sentence, it had just come out like that. He was hoping that she wouldn't notice that out of place sentence. "So I guess nothing will convince you Dimitri. Is this true?"

"Yes it is true professor. Please I beg you to get a good balance of sleep and work everyday from now on. Can you promise me that?"

"...If I promise you that then will you you worry less?" Byleth asked

"Yes." Dimitri said back

Byleth sighed in defeat "Ok fine, I guess I have no choice."

Then to Dimitri's relief, she finally stands up and starts walking away.

She looked at Dimitri while she walked past him and she saw a smile on his face. 

She started to tease him before she left "I've never seen you smile like that before. It's downright mesmerising."

Oh god, she was using Dimitri's words against him... This got him all flustered and red. "Professor... Can you not-"

She interrupted and continued to tease "Oh yeah and Dimitri I heard you say at the end of your statement that you saw me as more than just as a friend."

Dimitri was getting even more embarrassed "Professor, have you been hanging out with Sylvain by any chance?"

Byleth ignored his question. "So... what do you mean more than just as a friend?"

Dimitri really didn't know how to get out of this one. "Um... I-I uh... Maybe a best friend?" 

Clearly Dimitri didn't know how to answer her teasingly awkward question... He was also hoping that his classmates (specifically Sylvain) wouldn't find out about this awkward conversation. 

If they did, they'd either poke fun at him or just be like Felix. 

"Forgive me Dimitri, I've come dangerously close to teasing you" She continued to tease

"Professor..."

"Ok, ok I'm sorry Dimitri, I'll go and rest like you asked." Byleth giggled a bit.

They both went their own seperate ways for the day and both kept their promises from that night forward...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ah yay more teasing and Mercie in this part yayaya. 
> 
> Anyways thank you all for reading. Once again as always let me know if there is a problem. I don't really know if I did a good job with their characters in this one so I apologise for that aha.


	7. An Interest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 8 and takes place before chapter nine. The first week in the month, on the Seventh day of the Ethereal Moon. Takes place before "Washing Dishes" part. References "Joke telling" part. 
> 
> \-----

_After dance practice, Dorothea asked Byleth and Petra to have lunch with her._

In the previous moon, Dorothea asked Byleth to join the Blue Lions which Byleth accepted.

However little did Dorothea know that she would later be chosen to represent the Blue Lion house for the upcoming dance competition that would happen not long after. She was very honoured and happy to have been chosen. 

She and Byleth did some practice for the dance competition with a sweet Petra giving Dorothea encouragement and cheering her on. Dorothea had been working very hard during dance practice. 

After dance practice, Dorothea asked if Byleth and Petra wanted to have lunch with her in the dining hall. They both seemed happy to join her and so they accepted.

So they all headed off to the dining hall to have lunch with one another and sat down at the table with their food. They ate their food. 

Dorothea on the other hand seemed like she wanted to start a conversation especially judging from the fact that she had a large grin on her face.

"So Petra, Professor, got any plans for the ball later on this month?" She said in her teasing tone.

Petra seemed confused. "I am not understanding Dorothea."

"I mean do you plan on meeting anyone at the goddess tower or... maybe even be interested in someone?" She clarified and winked at Petra.

Petra looked down in embarrassment. "Oh uh... I think I have understanding now on what you mean by the second part. However what do you mean by the goddess tower?"

Dorothea seemed surprised. "Oh Petra do you not know? The goddess tower has a legend behind it. It's believed that the goddess is watching that very place at that particular night. If you share a wish with each other, the goddess will make it come true! It also makes men and women whom are close to one another, go to the goddess tower on the same night! Did you have anyone in mind to do that with Petra?"

This made Petra think quite a bit "Uh... No I don't think of anybody in particular..."

Dorothea even suggested a few people "What about Lin? or Ashe? Or Yuri?"

"I haven't given thought myself to be honest. How about you Dorothea? Do you have anyone in mind? Ferdinand perhaps?" Petra asked naively

Dorothea shivered at the thought and her grin slightly fell but then started to awkwardly chuckle. "Ferdinand? That's a funny joke you said right there Petra."

This confused Petra but then she realised the professor hadn't said anything yet. "Professor does anyone interest you at all?"

"Oh yeah! Professor! This would be an interesting thing to hear!" This brightened up Dorothea since she was genuinely curious to know if a serious person like the professor had any feelings for anyone at all.

"Interest me?" Byleth asks

"Yes, or even maybe even a... crush!" Dorothea teased.

Byleth thought to herself if she had any crush at all but couldn't really think of anyone in particular...

She was about to deny the question until a blonde haired prince meets the corner of her eye from a while away. He was just outside of the dining hall and was laughing with Alois despite the amount of weirded out expressions from everyone else around them. Alois must of told him another bad joke like that other time.

She smiled when she saw him and didn't exactly realise she was staring at him.

Dorothea and Petra noticed that her eye contact seem to be elsewhere

Petra was confused. "Professor? Is something the matter?"

Dorothea was confused herself but then realised that Byleth seemed to be staring at someone else. She saw whom Byleth was staring at and started to smirk.

"Oh... I see now, I guess I understand somewhat then." Dorothea said with a wink.

Byleth turned away and faced Dorothea. Petra was also confused herself.

"Dorothea?" Petra asked

"Were you staring at someone just then Professor?" Dorothea kept teasing. Similarly to how certain other student enjoys teasing Dimitri. 

Byleth was confused "Pardon?"

Dorothea whispered something in Petra's ear which confused Byleth even more. Petra look a bit flustered but she seemed to have finally understood what Dorothea was trying to say.

"So you think the professor has some interest in His High-"

Dorothea cut Petra off "Yes definitely."

"Do you have certainty in this claim?" Petra asked

"Yes. Think about it Petra, He is the house leader and they seem to get along very well!" Dorothea winked

Byleth was getting slightly irritated since she wasn't exactly on the same page on what they were talking about. "What are you both-"

Byleth got cut off by Petra. "I must say, you have very good points yourself Dorothea. Would he perhaps feel the same-"

Dorothea cut Petra off again "Well I don't see why he wouldn't."

Byleth tried to get ahold of this conversation "What are you both talking about exactly?"

Dorothea tried to reply "Oh, don't worry Professor just student-"

Petra unintentionally cut off Dorothea "Dorothea and I think you might have a... somewhat crush on Dimitri."

This caught Byleth off guard and confused her "Crush on Dimitri?"

Dorothea sighed but didn't see the point in denying anything "Yes we think you do. You smiled at him when we asked if you had a crush on anyone." 

"Did I?" Byleth asked. 

"Professor? You did- No uh... did you not notice?" Petra was surprised

"Well-" Byleth was cut off.

"Anyways Professor, I won't force you to talk about it but I'm just letting you know if you need any advice, I'm perfectly happy to help you!" Dorothea winked at Byleth

"Advice on wh-" 

Byleth got cut off again "You'll know when you get there, I promise." Dorothea winked at Byleth.

"But Dorothea, I don't have a cru-" Byleth attempted to deny but just continued to get cut off.

"Yeah, yeah if you say so Professor..." Dorothea said in a sarcastic tone.

\-----


	8. The Jealous Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre time skip, takes place after chapter 6 and takes place before chapter 7. After "Joke telling" part. Beginning of this part takes place on the eighth of the Wyvern Moon. However it time skips to the morning of the next day which is the ninth of that Wyvern Moon.
> 
> \-----

_Sylvain was always quick to get on Dimitri's nerves._

He always a troublemaker to deal with. He was quick to misbehave, was always skirt chasing and did take pleasure in annoying Dimitri by teasing him about the most bizarre things. Dimitri must have given him many lectures a ton of times. However, Sylvain getting on Dimitri's nerves can be an unintentional misunderstanding from time to time. Though rare, still it can happen. It hadn't happened in a while.

One day however, Dimitri and Dedue were heading off to the marketplace to repair some broken weapons. They were both carrying broken weapons.

"Your highness, please allow me to carry more of those broken weapons of yours" Dedue insists despite him carrying way more weapons that Dimitri. They were both heading into the entrance hall. Ashe was talking to Ingrid and Annette. There were two other people in there but Dimitri couldn't see them yet.

"Don't worry Dedue, these weapons aren't fragile so I'll be-" Dimitri cuts himself off when two people catch the corner of his eye. 

Sylvain and Byleth...

They seemed to be talking about lance skills from what you can hear since they were both loud enough for everyone in the room to hear them. Byleth was explaining certain lance skills to Sylvain and he was just listening. 

Yet...for some reason this caused Dimitri to stand still and glare at Sylvain...

Dimitri could hear what they were saying and understood that they were talking about lance skills along with everyone else in the room. 

...But still for some reason, Dimitri was glaring at Sylvain but not the same way as he would normally glare. Sylvain's brown eyes were able to catch Dimitri's presence and then caught the glare Dimitri was throwing at him. Sylvain was confused and felt very unnerved from this random hostility from his childhood friend since he had no idea why he was glaring at him. Ingrid saw the glare and then so did Annette & Ashe. 

They were all very confused about Dimitri. Dedue realised that Dimitri stopped walking and was glaring towards Sylvain. Byleth seemed to be the only person who didn't notice that Dimitri was glaring. Dedue stopped walking and asked Dimitri what the problem was.

"Your Highness, you seem a bit distressed, does it have anything to do with Sylvain and the Professor?" Dedue asked.

Dimitri shrugged and shook his head. "No, it's nothing" and continued walking to the marketplace. However the tone he had when he said that, didn't go unnoticed by Dedue... 

Or Sylvain for that matter... 

Sylvain noticed the look Dimitri gave him and was confused himself. It wasn't the normal glare he'd normally get whenever Sylvain provoked him. It was... different this time. Ingrid noticed it too. He started to think about it even when Dimitri already left the entrance hall and he kind of stopped listening to Byleth. She eventually noticed that he stopped listening.

"Sylvain, are you even listening to me?" Byleth asked

"...Huh? Oh uh sorry Professor, can you repeat that? I um got distracted..." Sylvain admitted.

Byleth sighed but did as he asked.

Ashe, Annette and Ingrid seemed to be confused themselves but said nothing and went back to their conversation.

\-----

In the next day, early in the morning, Everyone was already in class and were in the classroom.

...Well not everyone. Byleth, Petra & Ashe were missing. It was odd because Byleth was normally never late.

"Strange, it's not like the professor to be running late like this." Felix said out in the open.

"I'm sure she has her reasons Felix." Dimitri responded.

"Pfft If you say so Boar" Felix brushed off.

Dimitri was about to comment but Ashe finally arrived in the room.

"Good Morning Ashe!" Annette said cheerfully as always.

"Oh Good Morning Annette!" Ashe replied

Ingrid asks "Hey Ashe, did you see the professor on your way-"

Ashe nodded "I did, she told me to pass on to you all that her and Petra are busy with something so they'll be late. They will be back here in a few minutes though."

"I see... Did you ask what they were doing?" Ingrid asked curiously

Ashe was slightly flustered by this question "I didn't really because it's clearly none of my business" 

"Oh I guess you have a point I suppose..." Ingrid said

.....

There was a bit of an awkward, silent pause until Annette finally broke the silence.

"So what should we do while we wait for the Professor to return?" Annette asked

Ashe suggested an idea to pass the time. "Well we do have the Battle of the Eagle and Lion coming up in a week from now, maybe we should talk abo-"

Ashe was cut off by Sylvain. "Nah I have a better idea on what to talk about"

"Oh really Sylvain, you do? I'm pretty doubtful of that statement" Ingrid rolled her eyes at Sylvain's statement.

"Heh trust me Ingrid, you'll know what I'm talking about in a second" Sylvain winked and then turned towards Dimitri "Anyways I have something to ask you your highness" Sylvain declared.

This caught Dimitri off guard and slightly startled him even. He calmed down quickly though and sighed. "What is it Sylvain?"

"You remember how yesterday, when you went past me and Byleth talking in the entrance hall-" Dimitri immediately looked down but Sylvain continued "I saw you give me a glare for no reason and it looked completely different to your usual glares. What was that all about?"

All eyes in the room were now on Dimitri and Sylvain. Dimitri was a bit red in his face and this doesn't go unnoticed.

"....Uh...thats- I-I was worried that you were um bothering the Professor." 

Sylvain was confused "But that glare didn't look like concern, it looked like... something else"

Ingrid steps in "Sorry your highness, but I'm with Sylvain on this one. I was there too when you glared at Sylvain yesterday and I saw your glare. You didn't necessarily look concerned but rather uh..." Ingrid stops herself because she was unsure on how to describe it.

"What type of glare did I give off then?" Dimitri asked

Sylvain and Ingrid exchanged looks.

Felix was completely uninterested and was irritated. "Why on earth are we talking about something as dumb as this?" 

Felix's words seemed to be ignored which had him sigh in response. 

"Uh, Ashe, Annette, Dedue, You guys saw Dimitri's glare towards Sylvain and the professor right? What would you describe his glare as?" Ingrid asked.

Ashe, Dedue & Annette were all caught off guard. Ashe especially.

Annette spoke up first to Ingrid's question. "Well, I think it might have something to do with maybe how close his highness has always been with the professor?" 

Mercedes was now taking part of the conversation "Hmm I think you have a point Annette. Is Dimitri... jealous of Sylvain perhaps?" 

.....

No one said anything until Dimitri tried to protest.

"What? N-no! I'm not jealous at all!" Dimitri unconvincingly blurted out of Instinct. 

...Unfortunately for Dimitri, he seemed to have made the situation worse after saying that because Sylvain was already on the floor laughing. Everyone but Dedue were clearly trying to not chuckle.

"Don't tell me Your Highness... You've got a crush on her?" Sylvain teased and winked at him. Despite this confrontation, Dimitri kept denying it. 

Sylvain and Ingrid do slightly hope he might have some interest in Byleth in that way. Neither of them show these strange "hopes" in front of Dimitri though.

Mercedes and Annette on the other hand, think this really adorable of Dimitri.

"Wow Boar, your even more pathetic than I thought." Felix looked down on Dimitri even though he was trying not to chuckle at how ridiculous the thought of Dimitri being jealous of Sylvain for hanging out with the Professor. 

"The admired Prince Dimitri is also jealous of his friend for simply talking to the one he has a little crush on... I gotta say, that isn't something you'd expect everyday... Pffft-" Sylvain teased and was still laughing.

"Come to think of it, I did see jealousy in His Highness's eyes towards Sylvain when he was talking to the professor back there." Ingrid couldn't help but point out. 

Annette winked at Ingrid "Ingrid, I didn't think you'd be interested in knowing about romance."

"Oh uh well-" Ingrid got cut off by Dimitri

"Why do you all blatantly assume that I was jealous of Sylvain hanging out with the Professor? Why do you all assume that I have interest in the professor in that way? Didn't I deny those assumptions?" Dimitri was getting impatient and was even getting annoyed. 

Surprisingly, Felix spoke up in his usual tone "Because you're doing a terrible job at lying to cover up the actual truth" 

"Felix-

Dimitri got cut off at the sound of Byleth and Petra entering the Blue Lions room. 

"Still thank you professor for helping me out- oh?" Petra cut herself off when she and the professor sees whatever it is in front of them. There was a red faced Dimitri and a few students looking like they're to not laugh.

"Uhh... What happened? Did I miss... anything important?" Byleth asked

Sylvain giggled "Well you did actua- OW" 

He got cut off by Ingrid stomping on his foot. "No professor, don't worry about it..." and then she whispered something in Sylvain's ear. Most likely telling him a lecture on how he shouldn't mention that... unique conversation in front of anyone especially the professor. 

"Oh uh ok... well I apologise for being so late."

Byleth started class not long after but Dimitri couldn't pay attention because he was really embarrassed from what just happened before. However he did wonder it. He does admit that he was jealous now that it was pointed out but he didn't realise it was that type of jealousy. He thought to himself "Was I jealous of Sylvain talking to the Professor because... of romantic interest?"

His face went red and he shook his head "No way, I doubt it... It's just I look up to the professor and see her as a friend... Nothing more right?" he thought to himself.

"Yeah... nothing more..." He attempted to convince himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heya guys! Here is a part where Dimitri gets jealous and all the BL students show up! Sorry if I made any characters out of character (specifically Ingrid, I don't think I wrote her too well in here yikes) but I won't lie, this was pretty fun to write. I really wanted to write a part with all the BL students being in. Although I won't deny that I did give more screen time for others. Ingrid & Sylvain had a lot of focus in here compared to everyone else. Don't worry though, I can guarantee that all students will still have their fair share of focus every now and then. 
> 
> Also this does explain a bit on why Sylvain teases Dimitri a lot more (as shown in previous parts like in "Heartwarming smile" for example) after this. 
> 
> My writing style was really weird in this one. Aha sorry about that once again. 
> 
> Oh and also, what Petra and Byleth were doing in this chapter, you'll find out later on :)
> 
> If you want any jealous parts in the future please let me know! Also please send me feedback, I'd love to know what you guys thought of this part! (I do hope I didn't make this part unintentionally cringeworthy for you guys to read) Anyways Thanks for reading guys(:


	9. The "Grand" Feast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre time skip, Takes place after chapter 7, right after the Blue Lions won in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion and when all the houses get back to the monastery to have a celebration feast. Before "Get Some Rest!" part. Takes place after B support between Ingrid and Dorothea. Takes place after B support Byleth has with Dorothea, Marianne and Raphael. 
> 
> \-----

_When they went back to the monastery, the students had a feast!_

To celebrate the victory from the Battle of the Eagle and Lion for the Blue Lions, all the students from all classes had a "Grand" feast. 

Claude did suggest one after all and it wasn't the first time all of the houses had a feast that year. 

However this feast was more unforgettable and fun than the previous time. It was definitely the best highlight of the year for many. All students from different houses sat with one another and celebrated.

The feast was held in the dining hall with a crazy amount of food. Many students were crazy excited when they saw what was there and quickly got some. When they finished picking the sit around the large table that was awaiting for them! They ate and talked with one another.

Byleth was eating with Dorothea and Marianne whom were sitting next to her, on the table. 

"Congratulations Professor! Y-your students are um very lucky to have you as their... teacher!" Marianne blushed and looked down when trying to compliment Byleth. 

Hilda who was also sitting next to Marianne, spoke up for Marianne. "Professor, you know that Marianne compliments you all the time, you should totally invite Marianne to your class and who knows? Maybe I'll consider joining too." 

Hilda was winking at Marianne and then winked again at Byleth.

Marianne got embarrassed. "H-hilda I-" 

Marianne got cut off by Linhardt who was sitting a bit further away. He raised his voice for Marianne to hear since many other students were talking to each other about different topics and he was staring at Marianne's plate. "Marianne, are you going to finish eating that? May I have it? For research..."

Marianne sighed and then turned towards Lindhardt "Please don't say such bizarre things in front of everyone." Marianne said it as if she was used to hearing him saying that. 

Dorothea joins in and goes back to the original subject "Well if Marianne and Hilda indeed have interest in joining your house Professor, I can't say they're the only ones who do have interest." 

Petra seemed to have heard Dorothea despite being slightly far away from her. She herself joins in and raises her voice."Oh? Dorothea you have interest in joining?" 

"Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Of course I'll need to give it more thought but I have many reasons for why the Blue Lion house would be lots of fun to join. I have grown very fond of the professor after all and to add on, I can keep an eye on my sweet adorable Ingrid." Dorothea teased and tried to say loud enough for Ingrid to hear despite not directly talking to Ingrid at that given moment. Unfortunately for Dorothea, Ingrid couldn't hear her very well but did hear her own name.

Ingrid was sitting further away on the table and was talking to Ashe and Mercedes (since they were sitting beside her) until she suddenly heard her name. It caught her slightly off guard.

"Did someone call my name?" Ingrid asked

Ashe and Mercedes were confused at this.

"I don't think so Ingrid" Ashe reassured her despite not being sure himself.

"Hmm, must have been my imagination." and then Ingrid continued with what she was telling Ashe and Mercedes.

\-----

Sitting next to Mercedes was Dimitri who was talking to Raphael. Raphael was sitting in between Dimitri and Felix.

"Wow Raphael! I don't think I've seen someone have so much food on their plate!" Dimitri seems to be impressed by the amount of food on Raphael's plate.

Raphael was surprised. "Really? I feel like I got less food than usual..." 

"Wait you eat more than this usually?"

Ashe, Mercedes and Ingrid seemed to stop their own conversation and listened in on whatever it was Dimitri and Raphael was talking about

Raphael grinned and looked proud "Yup! I gotta eat lots of food all the time so I can stay strong and be the strongest knight ever!" 

Everyone around him seemed amazed except for Sylvain and Felix. Felix looked disgusted and Sylvain looked nervous. Ingrid looked as if she had an idea and started to grin towards Dimitri.

"That's a really good example Raphael! Your Highness, I'm going to make sure you eat just as much as Raphael does!" Ingrid points out.

Dimitri did NOT sound like he liked that idea at all and tried to get out of it. "Ingrid, I uh appreciate the off-"

Ingrid cuts him off. "Its not an offer Your Highness, I'll make sure you do eat just as much as Raphael during breakfast and dinner from now on"

"But I don't think I'll nee-"

Ingrid cuts him off again. "You will. Don't bother arguing"

Sylvain starts laughing at Dimitri and mocks him even "Haha, good luck with that Your Highness. I'm sure that will be fun!"

Ingrid had another idea and started grinning towards Sylvain "Your sure that will be fun? Well Sylvain, I think this would be good for you too. I'm going to do the same for you and Felix too you know."

Sylvain immediately regretted even saying anything and this statement from Ingrid caught Felix off guard. Sylvain started protesting "No Ingrid pleas-"

"Don't put me in the same position as these idiots." Felix cut off Sylvain.

"Nope, none of you are getting out of this. I'll make sure the rest of BL students and the Professor will also make sure you keep up Raphael's example. I may as well follow the example too, I do want to be a knight after all..."

Felix and Sylvain tried to argue but Raphael then spoke up all of a sudden. "Speaking of the professor, I've been wondering this. Dimitri, not that I dislike you sitting next to me, in fact I had fun talking to you but I assumed you would be sitting next to the Professor for an event such as this"

Dimitri felt slightly out of place from this question but he still answered "Well I wouldn't have been able to sit next to her regardless. She chose to sit down next to Marianne. Then Dorothea came and sat next to the Professor."

Raphael nodded "Ah, I see. You know Marianne talks about her quite a bit and says how kind she is and the sort. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Marianne suddenly joined your class since she admires her so much. Anyways is what Marianne says about the Professor true?"

"Uh what does Marianne say about her exactly?"

"Marianne says that she is strong and kind! I've talked to the professor myself many times and Marianne seems to be right. However you seem to spend the most time with her and probably know her more than any of us excluding the Captain."

"Wait, I've spent the most time with the Professor?" Dimitri seemed to have only just realised it and asked.

There was an awkward silence but then Felix broke it "You only just realised it boar?"

"Uh well..." Dimitri was unsure on what to say.

"Well Dimitri, is the professor as awesome as Marianne claims her to be?" Raphael cuts straight to the main point.

"Well yes I believe so! Perhaps uh more "awesome" than she is claimed to be."

"Aw sweet! I should join your class too sometime!" Raphael declares happily

"Wow um that was a fast decision." Mercedes seemed surprised.

Dimitri stopped paying attention and looked at Byleth. She was smiling and laughing with the students around her. It made him happy to see her like this. Everyone else at the table, even Felix and Bernadetta were all cheerful and happy. 

_He hopes times like these could happen more often._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Last time we had one on only the BL house but now here is one on all the houses together! Also Dorothea & Marianne haven't joined BL yet (Petra has joined at this point though) when this happened but you might've guessed that already. You also might recognise Linhardt's dialogue here since he has the same conversation with Marianne about "research" if you eat food with those two in the actual game. I wanted to put that in because it made me laugh when I first read it. Again I apologise if I made Ingrid out of character here. That part about "lots of food" is important because its sets up a future part :)
> 
> And since I forgot to clarify, Dorothea was just acting silly again like always lol.
> 
> Anyways, prepare for the next part. Not going to tell you what it's going to be about but all I can say that it's pretty important just saying :)


	10. Heartbreaking Tears...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: THIS WILL HAVE MAJOR SPOILERS OF CHAPTER 9 FOR FIRE EMBLEM THREE HOUSES! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T REACHED THERE YET! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
> 
> Ok well, here is the most emotional part I've written for this series so far, yeeesh. I always wondering where on earth everyone was when Byleth and Jeralt were alone with Monica and how they found out what happened to Jeralt since it's never shown nor explained how they found out at all. So I decided to write this part like this on what takes during the incident just to let you know. 
> 
> This one is a bit more sappy and sad compared everything else I wrote so uh sorry lol.
> 
> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip right after chapter 9/Jeralt's death, on the 26th of the Ethereal Moon.
> 
> \-----

_The mission for this moon was a success but Jeralt was confused._

He wasn't sure where these attacks suddenly came from, first Remire village and now this? After saving the students, he decided to investigate the chapel with Byleth.

"Me and the kid are going to investigate the chapel to see if there is any evidence from the perpetrators, you all help get the remaining victims to safety using that indoor shelter over there. Once we have reached a conclusion, we will catch up with you all" Jeralt told the Blue Lion students.

Dimitri nodded. "Understood."

Dimitri and everyone else left the two of them alone and the relatives started to investigate.

They all arrived in this indoor shelter Jeralt was referring to and helped comforting the victims as much as they can. The shelter that Jeralt was referring to wasn't exactly far away but it wasn't easy to see Byleth and her father from there. The victims were praising and complimenting the people who saved them.

"We owe you our lives!" 

"Thank you so much!" 

"You guys are amazing!"

This amount of praise did embarrass the Blue Lions students but they were very happy to hear so. They were just glad that everyone was safe.

But then it started to rain after a while.

"It's a good thing that the Captain told us to come to the indoor shelter for these victims" Ingrid said.

Then Dimitri realised how long it's been since they left the Professor and Jeralt. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was very wrong and felt out of place.

"I'm going to check on the Professor and Jeralt, you all wait here" Dimitri stood up and started to leave but only to be stopped by Dedue.

"Your Highness, may I accompany you?" Dedue asks as he stopped Dimitri

"No, don't worry Dedue, I'll only be a minute." Dimitri smiled reassuringly at Dedue.

However this smile and statement of Dimitri's has not entirely convinced Dedue... 

...and it didn't really convince Dimitri himself either. 

"Your highness, If you take over 15 minutes, I will look for you." Dedue gives Dimitri a serious look.

Dimitri sighed in defeat "Alright fine, If I don't return before then, feel free to look for me" and then proceeded to leave.

\-----

Dimitri was soaking wet but he managed to ignore that. He wasn't far off from where he last saw the two so he loudly called out their names.

"Professor? Captain Jeralt?"

No response...

If they were still at the chapel then they should've been able to hear him...

This started to make Dimitri panic and worried. He called out again.

"Professor?! Jeralt?! If either of you are out there, please call back so I know your ok!"

No response again...

Dimitri was getting really worried and was thinking of the worst.

_"No... Don't tell me... Oh no..."_

He then started to run as fast as he could to the chapel.

While he was running he tried to control his nerves and tried to tell himself _"They probably can't hear you... They probably already made it back and you somehow missed walking into them... They probably are discussing something important..."_

However no matter how much Dimitri was telling himself this he couldn't shake of this awful feeling of something terrible may have happened and only made him run faster.

He ran and he ran...

And then he stopped when he saw something... unnatural...

No it wasn't just something... It was someone's corpse. This corpse had a dagger in them. There was also someone trembling, mourning and crying over it. The miserable person was lowered down in front of this... corpse...

This sight he was watching made him remember... The corpse reminded him of everyone who died that horrible day in the tragedy of Duscur. The person grieving and crying over this corpse, reminded him of himself on that very tragic day.

Sad, weak, full of regret of not being able to do anything, can't hear anyone else trying to call out to you... 

_Dimitri knew how this person that was crying over this corpse felt because he already experienced it..._

This corpse was Jeralt and the one crying was Byleth, the professor that he looked up to the whole year, crying right in front of him for the first time. It was... heartbreaking... to watch...

He hated what he was seeing, it broke his heart.

He went to the professor who wasn't even looking at him.

"Professor... What... what happened? Who did this...?" Dimitri wasn't even sure what words to say.

Byleth ignored him and was still crying over Jeralt. This didn't surprise Dimitri since she couldn't hear anything else at this moment. She probably hasn't even noticed that it had even started to rain.

Despite the pouring rain being extremely loud, Dimitri was able to hear her quiet sobs. It was something he wish he couldn't hear.

He walked closer to her and then bent down when he was next to her. He was staring at Jeralt's corpse in horror, just like she was.

"I... I-I'm Sorry Professor, I c-couldn't- I was..." Dimitri wasn't sure on how to properly arrange his words especially at such a horrible moment.

However he stood, looked at her and then he blurted out without thinking. "Professor... **I will lend you my strength and will help you get rid of the bastard that did this. I'm going to be by your side no matter what. I promise!** "

Byleth said nothing but it seems like she heard Dimitri's promise because she stopped looking at Jeralt's corpse and looked up at Dimitri. She seemed to have only just realised he was there. She decided to hold her tears away.

After a little while of staring at him, she finally said something. "...Dimitri when did you get here and... how long have you been here for...?"

"I only just got here Professor..." He answered.

Byleth looks back down at Jeralt "I see..."

Byleth then finally stands up but is still looking down at her father.

"I'm... sorry you had to see this." Byleth tells him and is holding back her tears.

Dimitri was about to say something but Byleth then looks at him and it seemed like she was going to say something to him. "But... that promise you made, about you know... being by my side no matter what... D-did you really mean it...?"

Dimitri said without thinking "Yes Professor, I did and I will keep my promise for the rest of my life, **no matter what!** "

Byleth looked as if she was trying to hold back crying even more than before but she gave Dimitri a faint but genuine smile to show that she was grateful "T-thank you...Dimitri"

Dimitri wasn't an idiot though. He could see that she was holding back and trying to stay strong in front of him. "Listen Professor... I just- I just think that you-" 

He sighed but continued to speak. "Professor please don't hold back for my sake, you don't have to stay strong all the time, just be yourself. You can tell me if something is holding you back or if you don't want to tell me, I won't force you to say anything..."

Dimitri does realise after he finished saying that to her, on what he said might've sounded pushy or forceful. It was a knee jerk reaction, he couldn't really stand seeing her hold back for him. It was painful for him to see her forcing herself to stay strong.

"T-thank you Dim- D-Dimitri but I'm..." Byleth realised she couldn't hold back anymore and started to cry again and hugged him without even thinking herself. She was happy that she didn't need to keep this strong image in front of him at a time like this.

Dimitri was slightly startled because this came out of nowhere but he hugged her in return.

"Thank you Dimitri..." Byleth whispered between her sobs.

Dimitri unintentionally looked up behind her and he then saw...someone

It seemed like it was one of his inner demonic ghosts that lost their own life in the tragedy years ago...

And it mouthed **"Avenge..."**

He thought they were gone...

But now after seeing that ghost appear...

He now knows he can't give up revenge ever..

Not only for his sake..

_But for Byleth's sake too..._

**_...It seemed like he had forgotten about revenge because he was unintentionally falling in love with the one he's hugging..._ **

_"I'm so sorry Professor..."_ Dimitri said to her quietly.

"It's not your fault."

Though Dimitri felt like it was his fault. Perhaps this wouldn't have ever happened if he didn't lose focus...

Lose focus on his only purpose... **and only reason for living...**

**\-----**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, lol this came out so cheesy ahhh, sorry, I hope its not cringeworthy to you guys. Hopefully you enjoyed this one.


	11. An Expression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 9 and takes place before chapter 10. Takes place on the Fourteenth of Guardian Moon. Part references "Joke telling" part, "Heartbreaking Tears..." part and "Washing Dishes" part.
> 
> \-----

_Despite what happened to her father and despite her feelings of grief, Byleth was still teaching for the moon._

Byleth was still really sad and wasn't over Jeralt but she does realise she does need to continue teaching, it was her job.

However, she didn't seem to be the same as before. She was more aloof and didn't show much emotion at all. This was very evident to all of her students. She didn't show any feelings of sadness which surprised some of the students but they don't question it.

It was awkward because they weren't used to Byleth acting aloof like this anymore especially since she was so happy during the previous moon. However they don't point this out either. 

After class everyday, they don't ask Byleth anything, they give her their regards. She does appreciate them and thanks them for it but her expression stays the same each time. 

In fact, they hadn't seen her expression change since it... happened.

However on the first free day of the week, this changed a bit.

Raphael ran into Dimitri around the fishing area.

"Hey Dimitri! Want to have lunch with me today in the dining hall, like right now?" Raphael cheerfully asks.

"I'd be happy to but... uh why right now? It's still a bit early for lunch isn't it?" Dimitri nervously chuckled.

"It's **NEVER** too early for food! I am starving and I need to eat!"

"Alright alright I get it, but uh why are you asking me?"

"Well duh, because I'm interested in joining your house! Which is why I going to ask the professor too so I can spend time with the cool leader and cool professor!" Raphael proudly grinned.

Raphael was looking at the professor who was alone, fishing as she seemed to have always done in that moon not counting teaching. Dimitri gazed at her and then gazed back at Raphael

Dimitri was startled from this statement and attempted to convince Raphael to ask someone else. "Raphael, I wouldn't recommend asking the professor to come with us."

"Huh? Why not?" Raphael was surprised

Dimitri looks down "Because... You do know that Professor did lose her father earlier this moon and she doesn't seem interested in eating at the dining hall like she did before"

Raphael understood but it didn't stop him from wanting to invite Byleth "But it is worth trying right? I mean even people going through a hard time do need to eat! Maybe she'll feel better after eating at the dining hall, I haven't seen her there since last moon"

Dimitri shook his head "Raphael, I'm telling you she won't say yes, maybe invite uh..." 

Dimitri cut himself off as he struggled to think of someone else.

"Nope sorry Dimitri but I'm going to at least try!" Raphael was determinded.

Dimitri sighed but stopped protesting "Ok fine go ask her, but I doubt she'll say yes."

Raphael started walking towards Byleth and realised that Dimitri was just standing there. He turned around and faced Dimitri "Hey Dimitri, come with me"

"Why?" Dimitri was surprised

"If it's as unlikely as you said it is, maybe she'll even consider coming with us more if she knows you're coming too!"

"Uh, I'm not sure I understand but I suppose I'll come with you" Dimitri was hesitant but did come with Raphael despite that.

They both walked towards Byleth who was just sitting there and fishing, not really catching anything.

They stopped and then Raphael raised his voice really loudly without realising it "Hey Professor! What's shaking? Are you hungry for any food?"

Dimitri looked away in embarrassment because of how ridiculously loud Raphael was. Not only did Byleth hear them but some people around him the area were startled from the sudden loud voice from Raphael which resulted in them all staring at Raphael and Dimitri.

Dimitri looked around and saw Linhardt sitting down, looking as if he is wondering how he woke up. Hubert and Felix despite being far apart from one another were looking down upon Dimitri and Raphael since they heard them too. Ignatz and Hilda were also around and were staring at them. Hilda gave Dimitri a smirk which says "I feel bad for you oh no oh no" all over it and does it in a teasing way. Ignatz on the other hand, was embarrassed for Dimitri.

Byleth was along with everyone else startled (though it wasn't obvious that she was startled) at this sudden loud voice but she immediately knew who it was. 

_Only one person she knew that did that perfectly..._

She turned around and face Raphael, expressionless as always. "um Hello Raphael and.. Dimitri? Did you need anything?"

"Yeah, would you like to join me and Dimitri for lunch right now?"

"Um I would but-" Byleth gets cut off from a sudden growl that came from her own stomach and so she quickly looks away without even bothering to finish her sentence..

"Hah Professor! You're hungry for food right?" Raphael smirks while Dimitri looks away.

"Well uh....." Byleth struggled on what to say but couldn't really deny Raphael's claims.

"So join us! Come on ya gotta eat! Please?"

Byleth was looking away for a bit and then sighed. She faced Raphael and nodded "Ok, sure"

Dimitri was shocked "Wait really? Professor, not that I don't want you to spend time with us but please don't force yourself to come with us! You don't have to go with us if you don't want to"

Raphael said nothing but Byleth did. "It's fine Dimitri, I'm not really forcing myself, I am admittedly uh.. hungry. Besides It has been a while since I've had lunch with someone I guess"

Raphael raised his voice again "Oh yeah! Then let's start to run to the dining hall" and he immediately started to hurry to the dining hall.

Byleth and Dimitri followed from behind without saying a single word to each other...

\-----

When they arrived at the dining hall, all three of them were all sitting at the same table and Raphael quickly digs in. Dimitri may be eating normally but is still completely aware of the awkward atmosphere going on with the three of them.

10 minutes in and everyone (especially Byleth) stayed silent and Byleth was just eating slightly slower than normal. She had a very emotionless expression on her face.

Dimitri was sipping tea despite trying to be careful with the teacup he was holding with two hands.

Raphael despite eating a lot at that given moment, wasn't unaware of the awkward situation so he attempts to start a conversation with the two of them.

"Hey Dimitri! How uh strong would you consider your muscles?"

He startled both Dimitri and Byleth due to how sudden that question was.

Dimitri while sipping the tea, broke the teacup after getting suddenly startled by Raphael. The tea he had was insanely hot and it spilt all over Dimitri while the ground had broken bits of glass.

Dimitri looked as if he was in pain from how insanely burning hot the tea was.

"Oh my, uh Dimitri I uh..." Raphael had an expression of a mix of guilt and shock.

Byleth finally looked up at them both. Though neither of them noticed that she was watching whatever chaos that just occurred between them.

"Uh Raphael..." Dimitri talked as if he was paralysed.

Raphael apologised. "Oh shucks Dimitri I'm so sorry ack! ....Was that a hot tea?"

Dimitri looked down. "Uh... Yeah it was."

Raphael looked even more guilty. "I'LL QUICKLY GRAB A TOWEL!" 

Then without warning, Raphael quickly jumped out of his seat and ran off to go grab a towel.

"Uh Wait Raphael don't..- and he's gone. Wonderful." Dimitri sighed. He went up and grabbed some napkins.

Byleth's expression was finally different and she seemed amused. She chuckled even.

Then Dimitri went back to the table and used the napkins to clean the stains on his uniform. He was clearly having a lot of trouble with it which made Byleth giggle to herself because she found it adorable. Seeing someone as strong and sophisticated as Dimitri failing to clean the tea stains on his uniform. It felt mean but it was still quite adorable to her. 

She was smiling at this. She hadn't been seen this happy since the incident.

Dimitri was still failing on trying to clean the stain and said out loud without thinking "oh gods why, why does this always happen to me? Cursed my royal blood strength!"

Dimitri sighed and then looked back at up. He finally saw the professor and he didn't realise that she watching that whole thing. She had a genuine smile on her face which slightly embarrassed Dimitri.

He missed that genuine, mesmerising smile from her. He feels as if it's something he hasn't seen in a really long time. He smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Ah, I take it you saw all of that? Uh sorry about that but you seemed amused from it." Dimitri sits down and smiles at her.

Byleth was still facing him "I-"

She was cut off when Raphael came back, running with a towel in his hand. He sat back down in his chair.

"I'm soooo sorry Dimitri!" Raphael said again.

Raphael being naive and silly as he is, tried to wipe off the stain with the spare towel of his. He seemed to be as bad as Dimitri when it came to cleaning off stains.

Byleth seemed amused but neither of them knew she was amused.

Dimitri stops Raphael from attempting to clean his uniform and reassures him "Don't worry Raphael, I'll clean it properly later on, it's no big deal."

"Ah shucks, are you sure? It's my fault.."

"Don't worry about it Raphael, I should've been more careful."

Raphael was still guilty but he believed Dimitri.

Dimitri remembers a joke about tea that Alois taught him and he used this as an opportunity to say it.

"Though I do **appreTEAiate** the **HonesTEA** in your **apoloTEA** Raphael" Dimitri's attempt on using three really horrible puns in the same sentence.

He chuckled at his own joke. Byleth was stunned from hearing such an awful joke.

Raphael completely missed the puns and tries to correct Dimitri. "Hey uh Dimitri! I don't want to be rude but I think you pronounced some of those words in your sentence wrong"

Dimitri is still slightly chuckling at his own terrible joke when he attempts to explain what he was saying "It's a pun! On uh... the words apology, appreciate and honesty!"

"That was a pun?"

Dimitri stopped chuckling and started to feel awkward. The feeling on when no one but yourself understands the jokes was what basically how Dimitri felt at the moment now. It was quite a humiliating feeling."Y-yeah! Uh since I spilt tea all over myself I made puns on the three words. For example apology but I made it aploTEA!"

Raphael was confused but he put fake smile on his face. "Oh uh... Hahahahaha.."

Dimitri wasn't an idiot. He could tell that Raphael was still misunderstanding the joke "Raphael did you understand the pun?"

Raphael's fake smile faded and he shook his head. "No."

So then Dimitri tried his hardest to explain the bad pun to Raphael. Byleth was chuckling and giggling to herself not really because of the joke but actually because of Dimitri trying his hardest to explain to the clueless Raphael.

A couple of minutes later, Dimitri's explanations still made no sense to Raphael

"I uh still don't get it sorry Dimitri"

Dimitri sighs and gives up "Don't worry, it's a terrible joke anyways..."

Byleth surprisingly spoke and told a bad joke herself. "don't feel **GuilTEA** , I thought it was a good joke! Good joke **DimiTEA!** "

Dimitri was surprised at the sudden statement from Byleth "Oh uh thank you prof-"

He stops himself when he realises that Byleth made jokes herself and then he burst out laughing.

Raphael was confused but was also surprised. He hasn't seen Dimitri laugh like that before. He saw that Byleth was smiling again which in return made him smile too.

Byleth was smiling to see him laugh like that again. She was glad to see him laugh like that again. Raphael then looked down and realised that they both forgot to clean the glass Dimitri broke.

Dimitri was still giggling. "That was an amazing joke Professor! Thank you-"

"Hey Dimitri, sorry to interrupt but you might not want to step on that broken glass." Raphael seemed puzzled.

Dimitri seemed to have only just realised it. "Oh dear, I've forgotten about that!"

"I'll help you clean up that glass!" Byleth smiles.

"Oh are you sure Professor?" Dimitri asked.

"I don't mind don't worry." Byleth nodded and then went on to help Raphael and Dimitri clean up the broken glass.

While after these events, Byleth did show slight more expression but not much.

It was still nice to see her recover and to be a bit more genuinely happy regardless...

\-----


	12. Wonders Of The Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, takes place before chapter 9 but takes place after Chapter 8. The night before the ball. Takes place on the night of the 24th of the Ethereal Moon. Takes place after "An Interest" part. References "Get Some Rest!" part.
> 
> \-----

_That night, the Blue Lion students made a promise with each other._

They all promised to meet five years from now, which would also be the same day as Garreg Mach Monastery holding its millennium festival.

Around an hour later, Dimitri went to the training grounds so he could train like always. Sure the ball was the next day but that wasn't going to stop him from training.

When he arrived, he was surprised to see Felix and the professor sparring. Well seeing Felix sparring was no surprise but he didn't expect the professor to train with him around this time.

Felix seemed intense about this match so Dimitri didn't bother to interrupt. He just stood there and watched. He stood out of their way. 

Dimitri didn't watch for very long though, Byleth beat Felix in a matter of seconds.

"Ugh.. I lost again... But, at least I'm getting closer to beating you each time!" Felix declared.

"so uh thanks for the sparring matches professor, I think I've had enough.. for now" Felix shook his head.

He let out a sigh and then faces Dimitri. "Now what are you doing here boar?" 

"Oh uh Dimitri! Hi! I didn't know you were here." Byleth was surprised when she turned around to see him.

Dimitri rubbed his head a bit. "Yeah I uh came here to train but I didn't want to interrupt your match with Felix?"

"Pffffft whatever. Anyways Professor, I'm going to sleep, night. Oh yeah and don't bother training with the boar, you'll both be reckless tomorrow... not that I care but still." Felix left the training grounds, which left Byleth and Dimitri alone.

"Anyways Professor, the ball is tomorrow... well now Professor, you sure picked a strange night to train.." Dimitri teased.

She teases him back "I could tell you the same thing your highness."

"Fair point." Dimitri chuckled a bit at her response.

"But in all seriousness, I was planning to go to sleep much earlier than usual tonight, not saying you have to follow my example but I'd recommend getting as much sleep since tomorrow is going to be a long day." Dimitri asked her.

"Ah yeah I suppose your right, I might stay up for a bit longer though, not for too long."

"Ok try not to stay up as late as you did in the beginning of the Red Wolf Moon Professor!" Dimitri warned.

Byleth nods "Oh no, I wasn't planning on that, What I mainly planned to do is go outside the classrooms, in the courtyard and look up at the sky. It seems to look more different tonight but it looks stunning.. or at least to me."

"Anyways, I'll leave you alone here to train, I'll see you around Dimitri!" Byleth smiled and turned away to leave. 

She took a few steps but then Dimitri said something out of the blue.

"Er wait Professor, do you uh.. mind if I join you to gaze upon that sky for a little while?" Dimitri asks Byleth despite feeling slightly embarrassed.

Byleth smiles and nods "Sure! I don't mind at all."

\-----

When Dimitri walked with Byleth to the courtyard to gaze upon the stars, she seemed rather excited to do so. It was...nice to see her so happy like this.

Then when Byleth looked up at the sky, he did too. He now somewhat understood what Byleth was talking about. He feels silly for not noticing before he entered the training grounds.

"I see what you were talking about Professor, the sky does look quite unique in its own right." Dimitri smiled. He remembered gazing up at the sky like this when he was a kid.

Byleth nods.

It's silent for a bit of a while but then Dimitri asks a question.

"Professor, you know how earlier we all promised to meet back here in five years?"

"Yes, what about it?" Byleth turned her head to face Dimitri.

Dimitri looked down to the ground as he spoke, slightly hesitant to ask. "Well, I wonder what we'd all be doing then..." 

He then looks at Byleth and continues to say what he was trying to say. "Professor do you have a clue on what you might do in five years from now?"

Byleth clearly didn't expect him to ask something like that. She seemed puzzled and then lost in thought.

"That's not a bad question.. Hmmm well I never really thought about it........ Maybe me and my father will go back to being mercenaries? I don't really know, I guess whatever the future brings me. Regardless of what happens though, I will definitely go to the reunion!" 

"Ah ha, I guess I did ask an unusual question but it makes me happy knowing that you will keep your promise." Dimitri smiled at her

Byleth repeats the same question he asked her, back at him "Dimitri, do you have a clue on what you might do in five years from now?" 

Dimitri looked rather pale "Uh... well other than being a king, I guess I think that... Yeah I don't really know either..."

They both chuckled a bit after this response from Dimitri.

"Anyways, I think I should be heading off. Thank you for showing me this lovely sight of this pleasant sky." Dimitri bowed with a bright smile on his face.

"It was my pleasure, I'm glad you liked it. Try not to stay up too late Dimitri." Byleth teased.

Dimitri laughed and spoke before he left. "That applies to you too Professor."

\-----


	13. Byleth's Transformation Part 1/2: "Regret and Fault..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok this is part is very different to the others I've done. Instead, this part is short story/event will be put into two parts instead of one and the second part is a continuation of the previous. This will be two parts long and will be based on Chapter 10 of Blue Lion route. That being said... that also means a crap ton of spoilers will be in this part since this is sort of a retell but also kind of not? This foreshadows future events a bit more than other parts I've written... just a warning. However, this WON'T be the only separated parts or continuous parts in this series, It will happen more and more. I can't tell you when or what they are but... they exist and will happen. That is all I'll say for now.
> 
> Anywho this part is based in the events during chapter 10, what the rest of the students were doing when Byleth recklessly chased after Kronya and how they ran into Solon. How they were feeling about the potential fact that Byleth could be dead. Dimitri will be the most focused though for obvious reasons. I also changed a bit of what actually happened but not enough to change the outcome of the chapter so don't worry too much about that. Anyways enjoyyyy!
> 
> \-----
> 
> Pre timeskip, During the battle between the students and Kronya's army (Chapter 10 basically). Starts slightly before Kronya shows her true form.
> 
> \-----

_It was finally time to avenge Jeralt._

The enemy revealed themselves in the sealed forest which was near the Monastery. This was all kept secret from Byleth until Dimitri told her and they decided on a strategy.

He wanted to help her get revenge on the bastards that took Jeralt away from her. Just like how he wants to get revenge on the Flame Emperor for the tragedy of Duscur.

Rhea opposed it at first but Dimitri convinced her to let them go after the enemy when he told Rhea the full plan.

When they all got to the forest, Dimitri promised the professor that they will not fail in avenging Jeralt.

But when they finally caught up to the enemy, no one expected the amount of reinforcements there were fighting alongside the enemy including the demonic beasts. Seteth said earlier they may have revealed themselves just to lure them all there. Sadly it turns out that Seteth was right.

Still this didn't stop the Blue Lions from opposing these enemies and Monica herself...

Or at least that is what everyone thought her name was.

Monica reveals her true self... Kronya... and apparently Monica was just a disguise and not at all what she looked like.

"Now... Attack!" Kronya declares for her soldiers to fight against them all.

The mages and demonic beasts charged against the Blue Lion students. The Demonic beasts attacks missed on a lot of them but Annette & Dorothea unfortunately got caught up in the attack and were badly injured because of it.

Not long after that attack, Byleth, Dimitri and Felix finish off those monsters without hesitation.

"Annette! Dorthea! are you guys ok?" Sylvain and Ingrid rushed to the injured monk and dancer.

"I'll heal them!" Mercedes reassures them all.

Byleth glimpsed at them to see if they were dying but they weren't so she didn't bother to check on them after that, she was trying to get to Kronya as quickly as possible.

She wanted revenge...

She wanted to avenge her father...

She wanted to make Kronya pay for what she had done.

At this point, she didn't care what happened to her or anyone else here...

"Professor! Wait up!" Yuri yelled from behind.

Byleth didn't listen, she kept trying to get to where Kronya was.

Any of Kronya's little soldiers/monks that was in her way, she destroyed.

A bit more...harshly than anyone should.

Dimitri was a bit...unsure what to think on that.

Then again though..he wasn't really one to talk.

Not too long later, The group successfully defeat the two beasts and just had a handful of mages to go.

"Ughhh, Where is Solon? He was supposed to be here by now!" Kronya grumbled as she realised how much closer Byleth and the Blue Lions were.

"Bah, I have no choice but to flee and leave this to the mages." She whined.

Kronya starts running away in the forest.

This made Byleth so furious...

She never felt so angry before...

**_She wanted nothing more to get revenge on her for what she had done..._ **

Byleth then immediately started chasing down Kronya, leaving her students alone to fight the remaining enemies without second thoughts. Byleth wasn't really thinking straight when letting them do so because she'd normally not let them fight on their own even if they were capable but as of right now... She cared the most about getting rid of Kronya.

"Professor! Wait! You can't be rash!" Dimitri tried to call out for her but she continued to run.

He and the other students tried to go after her but they couldn't because more mages blocked the way.

When Byleth disappeared, it was all up to everyone else to clear out the enemies. They had no choice but to eliminate the remaining mages in order to follow the Professor.

\-----

Once they were finished, Mercedes noticed something ahead in the forest.

"We should go after the professor! There is some strange purple magic ahead in the forest!"

"Mercie? What do you-" Annette turned around and saw what Mercedes was talking about.

Then everyone else turned towards there and they were worried.

There was some strange, strong dark purple magic coming from the forest, none of them saw such strange looking energy before.

They had a feeling something bad happened.

"We need to go ahead and help the Professor before it is too late!" Ashe alerted.

"Yes Ashe is right, We need to run after the professor now!" Flayn agreed.

They all ran in the forest, to the same path that Kronya and Byleth ran in.

The magic seemed to be getting stronger and stronger the more the time kept passing.

They finally caught up to them. However..... the sight wasn't pleasant. Solon was casting a spell which was causing the purple magic around them. Kronya was on the ground, who looked completely helpless and Byleth was stuck in this spell.

"Professor?!" Dimitri and everyone else attempted to go to her so they could help her.

However the Purple magic went over her and Kronya completely. Right after that she disappeared along with the purple magic and Kronya.

"Be gone with you... Fell Star." Solon said to himself

The students were a mix of confused and worried.

Solon told them the fate that "forbidden" spell he cast upon her. What happened to her.

Apparently according to Solon is stuck in "An eternity wandering in a void of nothingness, never to return to this world" which implies she is either dead or stuck in a dark void for the rest of her life.

They were all shocked and worried but they had faith in their Professor. They believed she may be still be alive. However the possibilities were sadly pointing to the worst. They still had hope but didn't abandon the thoughts of.... Byleth being dead and/or gone.

Dimitri and students picked a fight with Solon and his army in result.

Solon casted more and more fighters all of a sudden which outnumbered the students and them having a low advantage. Not to mention, the professor wasn't here to help.

This didn't stop them from charging towards Solon's army.

Dimitri Especially, was showing a unique side that he'd NEVER normally show.

Dimitri couldn't stand the thought of her being gone. Not to mention, he was the one who told her to about the enemies location which means that...she died because of him...

"Professor... Someone I lo-" Dimitri cuts himself off realising he was saying his thoughts out loud.

Dimitri finished the sentence in his thoughts. _"Someone I admired ended up being another person who died because of..... me.... No that can't- I won't let that happen!"_

This side of Dimitri had some (though not all) similarities to what **Felix was talking about earlier...**

However the students weren't exactly focusing on Dimitri's behaviour due to their concern for their Professor.

The Students didn't have their professor to command them so they went in their own accord.

However it did not go well especially for Dimitri.

Dimitri was fighting one of the swordsmen in Solon's army but unfortunately fell down and the swordsman used this as an opportunity to finally finish him off....

\-----


	14. Byleth's Transformation 2/2: "The Change"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: (Now I'm just going to say this now. My retell arcs after this one such as Gronder Field are so much better so please don't let this be your final judgement of what my retells are going to be. I wrote this retell back in December after all)
> 
> Initial A/N: Again before you read, you NEED to read "Byleth's Transformation Part 1/2: Regrets and Fault" to continue any further.
> 
> With that said, I apologise for the poor retelling in this part. I tried to make it as good as I can without making it draggy but I don't think I did that well. Sorry guys.
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoy this part

\-----

Pre timeskip, During the battle between the students and Kronya's army (Chapter 10 basically). Starts right after Solon reveals what happened to Byleth when she disappeared. Continuation of "Byleth's Transformation Part 1: Regret and fault." Takes place in where Byleth is.

\-----

_Byleth doesn't know how she got here..._

Byleth was confused, she was in some dark place. It didn't look too different to the place she and Sothis would normally talk in but... something felt really wrong.

And it felt frightning to be here.

"How did I even get here?" Byleth seemed to have forgotten how this happened. She was lost in thought.

Then it hit her.

She was chasing down Kronya... **the one who killed her father** and she was running after Kronya without thinking straight.

But she was tricked and Kronya was used like bait for her to fall in some weird spell that Solon had in mind to cast upon both of them.

Kronya was used as a sacrifice for the spell to be casted upon Byleth.

Kronya is nowhere to be seen and most likely died because of Solon's spell. Meaning that Byleth won't get to avenge her father like she thought she would.

However she realises that the side of her she had when trying to kill Kronya was something she doesn't ever want to go back to. It felt awful. Not to mention, she left her students alone...

Wait..

**She left her students alone.....**

Realisation hit Byleth and it hit hard. She left her students whom may not be strong enough to take down the enemies by themselves.....

Byleth was furious with herself and felt irresponsible. She was so tempted to avenge her father that she didn't even care for her own students safety. She felt so awful.

But she has no idea where she even is or what that spell was that Solon casted. She feels stuck in some dark void. She wants to leave desperately and help everyone but she can't figure how to leave.

"..." Byleth didn't know what to say at all.

"You Fool!"

Suddenly, Sothis and her throne appeared in the void. She looked furious with Byleth which made sense.

Despite the scoldings Byleth was get thrown at with, she was relieved to see a familiar face in this unknown place.

Sothis was angry at Byleth for putting them both in this situation. Since that was so obviously a trap! It seemed like both Sothis and Byleth are both stuck in this scary void place.

According to Sothis, this place was a realm of darkness which is separate to the world that Byleth came from.

Basically it would take a god to leave the place and then in time, both of their hearts and minds will cease to be which will kill them both.

Byleth wasn't prepared to die and neither was Sothis which came down to only one choice.

According to her, Rhea is the reason why Sothis and Byleth's fates were intertwined. She did something to Byleth. Sothis was the reason for why Byleth was described as the emotionless being in her father's diary.

Sothis has always been with Byleth and had power within herself. That power being... the power of the **goddess**... The power of the "Progenitor God."

Sothis is the one whom watches all of Fodlan and is the goddess that everyone looks up to.

There was one thing to save them both. Sothis's goddess power but.. she has no body of her own and has to relinquish all the power that she has to Byleth. With this she means they'll fuse and Sothis's powers will be Byleth's. This will also mean that Sothis won't get to talk to Byleth ever again.

This upset Byleth a lot and it was evident on her expression/tone. However there was no other way especially since she needed to save her students.

Byleth promised herself, she'll never foolishly let herself be blinded with revenge ever again.

Instead of avenging her father, she lost another person dear to her...and potentially someone else if she didn't leave there soon to help her students.

She thanked Sothis for everything and the process started.

Sothis walked towards Byleth and stopped in front of her. There was yellow magic surrounding both of them and they fused with this magic.

Byleth felt the power of the progenitor god within herself. Her hair changed colours and she grabbed the sword of the creator. It was a lot more powerful than before, no doubt because of Sothis. She used her sword and cut the air of the void. She can see her own world again from this cut she had done.

\-----

Dimitri was fighting one of the swordsmen in Solon's army but unfortunately fell down and the swordsman used this as an opportunity to finally finish him off....

However this random bright light that happened all of a sudden, stopped the soldier from killing Dimitri due to them being caught off guard from how bright this sudden light was.

Dimitri was slightly caught off guard by that strange light himself but he didn't let that distract him enough from doing his job. He wasn't in a position that could get him see the light in a good angle unlike the soldier.

Dimitri finished off the soldier. Dimitri wasn't expecting a random bright light to save his life but it did.

However along with the other students, Solon's soldiers and Solon himself, this light finally stole Dimitri's attention and shocked him.

It was some random cut in the sky by a bright orange sword. This sword looked very familiar to Dimitri.

This cut in the sky was very close to Solon.

"So the Fell Star consumes even the darkness itself..." Solon said to himself, staring wide eyed at this cut in the sky.

Byleth jumped out from the cut and glared at Solon.

Solon started to back away in a slightly cowardly way, similar to what Kronya was doing earlier. However unlike back then, Byleth went straight back to her students and they were in a mix of happy, shock and confused.

Dimitri especially.

Dimitri acted calm despite the fact he was so relieved to see her alive but he was also so confused, her hair colour and eyes were different...?

However now wasn't the time for everyone to ask questions about what happened. They needed to focus on finishing off Solon's army.

Solon brought in more reinforcements such as similar mages and demon beasts that Kronya had before but everyone was still confident in themselves.

Similar to before, the army started charging up the students again but Byleth was quick to defend. It was clear her focus was put more on defending rather than attacking.

However, he main focus wasn't really on defending herself but rather defending her students.

\-----

This battle was a bit close but there were lesser injuries this time due to Byleth being in more control of herself this time around.

However Solon said something that concerned Dimitri a bit.

"But this is not the end... Thales will carry out our mission, somehow..." Solon said as he finally died.

Dimitri frowned when he heard that. "Thales... Does he also serve the Flame Emperor? It can't be..."

Now after that, there were many questions that people had for Byleth but Dimitri talked to her before everyone got to. Assuming Dimitri would probably explain what happened to her afterwards, the students left them both alone.

Dimitri told her how relieved he was to see her ok and unscathed and that Jeralt's foe is gone.

However right after, he couldn't help but ask about these "changes."

So she told him and it wasn't exactly... the most normal story in the world.

Apparently from what Dimitri understood, what happened here was like the Legend of Saint Seiros. Byleth was given the power from the goddess to get rid of evil.

This wasn't easy to understand for Dimitri but he can't really doubt the story since he saw he cut the sky with his own eyes.

Dimitri thought out loud after this explanation.

"Hm. If you're Seiros, granted power by the goddess, then I suppose that makes me..." Dimitri sounded a bit excited when he was saying that.

He then snapped out of his odd excitement. "Ah, Never mind. I'm getting carried away."

He then realised Byleth was looking exhausted.

Byleth's vision started to get blurry and she fainted which made Dimitri panic.

"Professor! Whats Wrong?! Are you...uh... Are you asleep?" Dimitri sighed in relief when he checked her pulse.

"What is happening these days? Well, it matters not. We must get you help, and fast." Dimitri said.

He started to blush a bit because of the potential choice he has to make. He tried to think of any other alternatives.

But there were none, he had to take her back quickly and there was no time to think of any other strategy. He couldn't ask his classmates to do this so the task falls down to him. He was very hesitant but he knew this was the only way... He sighed to himself.

"Sorry, Professor, but I have no choice but to carry you back."

Dimitri carried her like he said he would and in a bridal style. He then told the rest of his classmates that they all including himself, should quickly head back to the monastery.

They all gave him this look when they saw him carry Byleth which he saw coming from a mile away.

First there was panic from the students.

"What happened? Is the professor ok?" Mercedes was the first person to ask.

Dimitri reassured everyone. "She's fine, she's asleep but we should take her back to the monastery and to the infirmary fast!"

Second there was confusion from the students.

"Um... Does it something to do with... you know... those changes?" Annette suggests with an awkward but slightly worried look on her face.

Dimitri wasn't sure how to answer that question. "Uh, I can only assume so. She seems fine but we should take back to the monastery quickly so we can know for sure."

The classmates had no objections but they couldn't but stare at Dimitri because of how awkward everything was.

Regardless they tried to be fast when approaching back to their horses.

Raphael naively looked as if he was going to ask if he could carry Byleth for him but Marianne gave him look which kind of made him quiet and realise that he maybe he shouldn't ask.

Once they got on their horses, they immediately headed straight back to the monastery as fast as possible.

\-----

Dimitri had a ton of stares from the students in the monastery but that wasn't the main focus at that moment. He was just worried about Byleth.

Shamir and Seteth have gone to get Rhea so she can visit both Dimitri and Byleth in the infirmary since Manuela was not there for some reason. Dimitri doesn't feel comfortable to leave Byleth on her own so he waited for Rhea with Byleth.

He looked at her as she peacefully slept on the infirmary bed.

He quickly looked away and slightly panicked.

 _"Please be okay... Please be okay..."_ Dimitri said under his breath.

Dimitri then heard Rhea walk in and he felt a bit relieved. 

"Lady Rhea! I-"

"Do not worry about our dear Professor. She is going to be just fine." Rhea reassured him.

"B-but-"

"Your concern is greatly appreciated but please leave her here to rest. I promise you, she'll be ok and I will take care of her. I swear on my life she will be ok." Rhea said with a soft smile on her face.

Dimitri knew he didn't really have much of a choice here but believe and trust Rhea with Byleth. So he made his leave and when he took many steps away from the infirmary room, he could've sworn he heard someone singing.

He shrugged it off and kept walking away.

_"Looks like things are going to be completely different now for sure..."_

\-----


	15. The Prince's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This part is about Dimitri's birthday which is on the 12/20
> 
> So yeah I just wanted to alert you all before you read that the way I wrote this part isn't exactly how it would normally go in the game. The blue lion students don't actually celebrate each other's birthdays like this but for this fanfic, I'd really like to do that.
> 
> Also the kids in the beginning of this part? I made them up and they know about Dimitri's stepmother but don't know she is from the empire. Forgot to clarify this earlier lol whoops.
> 
> Also Dimitri is turning 18 in this birthday part just letting you know.
> 
> Anyways I'll shut up now and I hope you enjoy this part!

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 8 and takes place before chapter 9. Takes place on the 20th of Ethereal Moon (Dimitri's Birthday). References Dimitri's support with Flayn (though it hasn't happened yet but it still references it). Also references the parts "The Grand Feast" and "Get Some Rest!"

\-----

_A young Dimitri wakes up, yawning and looking bewildered._

His father, his step mother, Rodrigue, many of his friends and other relatives surprisingly jump out of where they were hiding the moment they saw him wake up. 

"HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY PRINCE DIMITRI!" and they all gave him a hug tackle.

"Waah! Wha?" Dimitri was absolutely started with everyone suddenly giving him hug tackles.

A young child whom was also there who looked half asleep along with some of the other kids whom seem to be his friends. "Did you forget you own birthday Prince Dimitri?" 

"It seems like it" another friend of his said with his arms crossed and is standing up

"Young Prince, It's time to celebrate your wonderful birthday!" Rodrigue started hugging him.

"Come to think of it, He'll be 18 years old, in 8 years from now huh?" His step mom, Patricia said out of realisation. 

"Yes and We will both be here when he does turn 18 huh?" His father, King Lambert said hugging his own son.

\-----

Dimitri wakes up.. for real. 

"That was 10 years ago huh?" Dimitri said under his breath and was looking down, with a really sad expression. 

He shrugged it off and gets up. He gets ready by getting dressed. He is doing his normal morning school routine.

He starts heading to class like normal. The monastery atmosphere didn't seem anything out of the ordinary. 

However when he stepped into his classroom and saw that no one was there, he immediately knew why. 

Despite that he acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world and pretended to not know.

Everyone (Even Yuri & Hapi) jumped out of their hiding place and yelled out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIMITRI".

Well all except for Dedue who said "Your Highness" instead of "Dimitri"

It was so loud that both the classrooms next to his, heard them all. 

They could even slightly hear a startled Bernadetta and a startled Lysithea from the other classrooms. They also heard a conversation from the golden deer classroom.

"W-was that a ghost? I swear that was a ghost!" Lysithea trying to look fearless. 

"Bahaha No Lysithea, the blue lions are celebrating his princeliness's birthday" Claude said laughing.

"Didn't they do this for basically every other student in that class-?" Lorenz looking utterly annoyed.

"Quiet Down!" Hanneman cut off Lorenz and all the students went back to paying attention. 

"Maybe we were a bit too loud again" Ashe said chuckling. 

"Who cares? Let's go celebrate in the dining hall!" Annette was giggling and was already running there.

They celebrated everyone else's birthdays in the dining hall whenever it was someone's birthday if they were in the Blue Lion class though they try to avoid telling classmates from other classes because they may join just for the sake of having a free feast on someone's birthday. 

Dorothea, Yuri, Hapi, Petra & Marianne knew that the blue lion students liked surprising each other whenever it was their birthday but they didn't know they go to the dining hall. Petra found out earlier though when celebrating Ashe's birthday earlier in the year.

Byleth always did give presents to non blue lion students when it was their birthdays though. Like she even gave Edelgard a diary for her birthday once. 

Byleth was also able to convince Rhea to do so which wasn't hard but Seteth wasn't too keen on it but Rhea didn't oppose it so neither did he. 

This was the third time they celebrated someone's birthday like this with Ashe being the first and Dedue being the second. Ingrid's was going to be the fourth soon. Unfortunately, Byleth wasn't here to celebrate when the other's had their birthdays earlier this year. 

"We are... celebrating in the dining hall?" Dorothea seemed surprised. 

"Do you guys always do that?" Marianne was also confused.

"Yes, I'll explain to you both" Petra's tone suggested as if this was the most normal thing ever despite being in the same position as the two of them when Ashe's birthday was being celebrated. 

So she explained it to them while everyone including them headed to the dining hall. Mercedes and Annette were skipping cheerfully on their way to the dining hall with Felix's head looking down, looking slightly cranky.

"Felix don't be such a party pooper" Sylvain said as he used his hand to pat his friend's head

Felix brushed off the hand since he found it irritating. "Hmph."

\-----

They all arrived to the dining hall. Petra seemed to be finished explaining everything. This seemed similar to that feast they all had after the battle of the eagle and lion.

"Wow this is huge!" Dorothea looked shocked. 

Mercedes giggled at that response.

"Well birthday boy, is there anyone you'd like to sit next to?" Sylvain smirked at Dimitri

"Uh, please refrain from calling me that Sylvain. Anyways in all honesty, I personally don't mind sitting next to anyone." Dimitri looked slightly flustered.

"Then how about sitting next me and the professor?"

Before Dimitri answered, Sylvain spoke up again "Professor, what do you think?"

Byleth nodded "I don't mind, is that ok with you Dimitri?" 

"Uhh sure, thats fine" Dimitri was hesitant about sitting next to Sylvain because of the potential tricks he could pull off... again. 

Ingrid wasn't oblivious to the fact that Dimitri looked hesitant and she immediately guessed why.

As everyone started heading to the table, Ingrid grabbed Sylvain and talked to him.

Their conversation was only heard briefly near the end.

"Sylvain please just... you know be on your behaviour for once?"

"Oh I will be" Sylvain winked at Ingrid. 

However Ingrid didn't seem convinced

"Sylvain, I'm serious, please?"

Sylvain gave in and sighed. "Ok fine"

Ingrid looked pleased and they both headed back to the table.

"Oh yeah, the cake!" Byleth remembered and she went off to go get it.

Annette also left the table too to go help Byleth.

"You guys really shouldn't have, Thank you" Dimitri looked grateful.

Before anyone could answer, Annette and Byleth returned with a cake. Felix looked disgusted which made sense since he doesn't like cake.

After the cheesy singing, Annette cut up the cake and gave the first slice to Dimitri.

He took a bite and surprisingly to Annette, he seemed to have genuinely enjoyed it. 

"I must say that cake does look delicious!" Ashe looked excited.

She cut up a piece for everyone (except for Felix) while Dimitri asked for seconds. 

They all took a bit of their own and they made a face.

Yuri's face was the most horrified when eating as he could tell that there was something 

They clearly didn't like it.

"This cake is..." Ingrid didn't bother continuing

Mercedes immediately said something while having a deceiving smile on her face. "Professor, Did Annette bake this cake by herself?"

"Uh yes she did, why?" Byleth asked.

"That explains it... Annette dear, you made this too sweet!" Mercedes looked down in guilt

"What? No I didn't!" Annette was embarrassed since she didn't even realise it.

"And... the lack of flour is noticeable." Mercedes couldn't help but point out.

"That can't be possible" Annette looking disappointed in herself.

"And it's not even..baked correctly." Yuri complained.

 _"This is even worse than my own cooking."_ Flayn thought to herself.

"Dimitri, doesn't the cake taste too sweet?" Mercedes asked

"Oh uh......." Dimitri looked down "I suppose not... It doesn't taste that sweet. It's quite delicious actually."

Annette looked chipper again "Well at least one person liked it!"

\-----

This was certainly an odd birthday thats for sure. Not to mention all the presents that Dimitri received.

A strategy book about knights from Ingrid. A story about a knight from Ashe. A guide about how to charm ladies obviously from Sylvain. Flowers from Dedue. Treats from Mercedes, Dorothea, Yuri, Hapi and Annette. Fish from... Flayn. A sparring sword from Felix. Petra gave him a hunting dagger. Marianne gave him a Armored bear stuffy.

From Byleth though she gave him a Ceremonial Sword which was something he had wanted for a long time.

Dimitri showed his appreciation to everyone especially to Byleth because she's the one who planned everything despite the ball being in five days from then.

However despite his positive attitude, Byleth couldn't help but feel as if he was holding back. She even asked if he was doing alright a couple of times but he reassured her that he was fine.

For some reason, she didn't believe him. However there was nothing she could really do about it even if he was since it was already night. It was also raining.

But Byleth once again couldn't sleep so she went out again to go to the fishing area, not really expecting to see anyone. 

"Maybe I should fish or-"

"Professor?" 

Byleth was caught off guard by this sudden but familiar voice and she turned around to see who it came from. 

Dimitri.

"What are you doing out here in the rain?" He asked. 

He then panicked. "Wait, please don't tell me that you're overworking your-"

Byleth quickly shook her head and cut him off. "Oh no no no, that's not it! I just... couldn't sleep again but uh why are you here Dimitri? It's your birthday!"

"Ah Uh.... well I guess I came here to...." He sighed to himself and didn't bother continuing. 

They both lost eye contact. It was silent for a few seconds and then Byleth said something.

"Dimitri is there something bothering you?"

Dimitri shook his head and lied. "No, I'm just feeling tired I suppose..."

Byleth saw through it, she sensed...darkness within him...

_Just like when they first met..._

She confronted him about it. "Uh but then why are you here this late at night?"

Dimitri went silent and looked down. Byleth felt guilty for saying that. This atmosphere felt a bit gloomy for them both.

Byleth stared at him for a while but then said something "S-sorry that was a bit rude of me... But I just want you to know that you can tell me if there is anything bothering you but I won't force you if you don't want to tell me at all." 

Dimitri finally said something after a little while. "...Thanks Professor... It's just..... I guess I remember about 8 years ago when I celebrated my birthday with my father and step mom.... They mentioned that they'd both be there when I did turn 18 but that didn't happen because... you know..."

Byleth stayed silent and just kept listening. 

"I guess I feel as if the tragedy that happened didn't happen, I wouldn't even be here right now and I probably would've never met some of the people here, Including you Professor. I guess I just feel guilty."

"I don't know how to explain it. I guess, as the sole survivor of the tragedy... I just feel I don't have the right to live for myself." Dimitri blurted out.

Byleth really didn't know how to say. She desperately wants to help him but she can't think of how. "I'm so sorry Dimitri.. I..." 

She sighed but then continued "Dimitri, you have the right to live for yourself. You should stop thinking otherwise."

Dimitri frowned and said nothing. Byleth wasn't sure if that made things better or worse for Dimitri.

"I appreciate your words Professor... Thanks for listening to me, I feel better now that I've talked to someone about it. You're a good listener you know..." Dimitri sent her a grateful smile which was actually genuine. 

Dimitri then spoke again. "I also wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me Professor, not only for today but for... everything... I appreciate it.. Seriously thank you!" 

"Its fine really, thank you for being a good student." Byleth thanked him in return.

Dimitri decided to change the subject. "Ah uh thank you.. Professor I hope you don't mind me asking but... Your birthday is the 12th of Pegasus Moon right?"

"I think it is, why do you ask?"

"No reason... Anyways Professor, I think I'm going to back to my room and sleep for the night but if your going to stay up late, I'd advise you to not stay out in the rain, you don't want to catch a cold." Dimitri warned her.

"Uh sure, I'll go in a bit." Byleth nodded 

With that Dimitri left and headed back to his room. 

He thought about what she said... 

_The right to live..._

_"Is it really that simple...? Do I have the right to live...?"_ He thought to himself.

**_"No...I don't..."_ **

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This got a lot more serious than I intended it to but eh. Also please correct me if I made any mistakes because I have a strong feeling, some of the stuff I wrote is wrong. Also again please tell me if this turned out well? I'm sorry that I'm not always confident in my writing but I still try my best. 
> 
> Thanks for reading guys :D


	16. A Secret

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 7 and takes place before chapter 8. Takes place on the second week of that month/moon and taking place on the eighth of the Red Wolf Moon. A few days after "Get some rest" part and only a few days before "Heartwarming Smile" part.

\-----

_Byleth had recently found out a secret that she shouldn't know._

She (and Sothis) overheard someone named Arundel talk to Dimitri and had also heard Arundel calling both Edelgard and Dimitri his nephews. 

Dimitri explained that Arundel is his step mother's brother which means that him and Edelgard are siblings by marriage. Dimitri left it at that and left. It explained a few things but also raised new questions...

It explained why Dimitri was so concerned for Edelgard when she was heading off to a mission, earlier that year.

However it raises the questions of.. Why was Dimitri researching so late at night in the library about Arundel during the time Flayn was missing? Why did she sense hostility between Lord Arundel and Dimitri?

Was he just curious? Is his... relationship with his Uncle that complicated? Well it didn't matter, she had no way of knowing because she couldn't really ask Dimitri as of right now and there was no point in asking Edelgard and Arundel especially since she wasn't really supposed to know.

The week after she was told what happened, one of her questions was answered in a way she didn't think it would be.

There was no one around and her day of teaching was almost over. Byleth used this free time to fish like always and was lost in thought until she heard a sudden voice behind her.

"May I speak to you for a moment?"

She turned around to see who this mysterious voice was coming from. It seemed like it came from Lord Arundel.

"Um alright..." Byleth was hesitant because for some reason the atmosphere felt very awkward and heavy the moment he spoke.

"Thank you... I'll get straight to the point, So it seems like you know a secret perhaps?"

"Hmm?"

Arundel looked at her as if she was the dumbest person in the world. "Don't act stupid, you know about my sister being Dimitri's step mother don't you?"

Byleth thought she heard someone walking towards to where her and Arundel were but those footsteps must have stopped.

She can also hear Sothis in her mind again _"What in the name of? How does this guy even know that you know? Did that leader tell him? No I doubt it. Well? Don't just stand there like some fool you child! Say something!"_

She finally said something "What are you talking about?" 

For some reason, she swore that she could sense that Sothis was looking down upon Byleth in shame.

Arundel sighed and is clearly impatient "I overheard Dimitri telling you that I'm his step uncle and Edelgard being his step sibling. I hope you're not bothered about me listening in on a private conversation that you had with him, I mean it's only fair, you rudely did the same thing?" 

Byleth felt intimidated and can see that this conversation was going downhill quite fast. "Um.. I do suppose that is fair."

"I hope you don't mention this secret out to the public"

"I won't"

"Good." Aurendel said with a tone.

"And I hope someone like you wouldn't mind me asking some more questions" Arundel kept the conversation going. Byleth couldn't tell if he had some grudge against her or if it was something else entirely.

"I suppose not"

"Wonderful. Well, from what I've heard from my nephews... You wield the sword of the creator correct?" Arundel had said

Byleth bit her lip "Um yes correct"

He confronted her "And you are a professor of the Blue Lion house which is the same as Dimitri's class yes? I've been told that you were allowed to choose which class you wanted to join?"

"Yes..."

"Which means you picked Dimitri's house over Edelgard's... which is a pure shame, I'm sure you would have been better in Edelgard's class, I mean you did save her life. Thank you for that but I must say this... I think you should reconsider your choices and teach her class. The empire would benefit from someone who wields the sword of the creator much more than the kingdom."

This made Byleth a bit angry. Before she could say anything, someone appeared behind Arundel and said something to the both of them.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation but I need the professor to help me with something, do you mind professor? It's a bit urgent..."

This voice came from Dimitri who was now standing behind Arundel. Dimitri had a slight frown on his face and his arms crossed. Byleth and Arundel both turned their heads to face Dimitri.

"And yet, it's so urgent that you hid and eavesdropped in on our conversation until I attempted had enough? Are you just making up some excuse so I don't talk to your professor anymore? It seems like you don't want me to try and consider the sword of the creator to teach a different class." Arundel confronted Dimitri with his eyebrows furrowed. Neither Byleth nor Dimitri expected this confrontation...

Byleth can see that Dimitri wasn't expecting such a response. Dimitri didn't realise that his uncle noticed that he was listening to the conversation. This caused everyone to go silent for a bit.

Arundel sigh and clearly didn't see the point anymore "Well then, I doubt the Professor has all of the answers of the questions I have. A bit ironic but It doesn't seem to matter. I have business elsewhere anyways. Farewell" and then Arundel left

They both waited until Arundel was completely gone before anyone said anything.

Dimitri sighed and bowed down. He seemed really apologetic. "I apologise for how rude I was professor but I couldn't really stand seeing Arundel being hostile to you and for him trying to convince you leave the Blue Lions for some reason. He seemed to have only cared for your weapon. Well I do hope you know that you're always the heart of the blue lions, no matter what weapon you wield."

"Thank you Dimitri, I appreciate those words and...I actually appreciate what you did then. I honestly didn't know what to do or say right there and then if I'm being totally honest." She smiled at him again.

Dimitri blushes a bit from seeing her smile but it made him happy too. It doesn't seem like he'll ever get tired of seeing her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi guys! I apologise for Arundel's portrayal here, I know I say this about every other character but I don't think I portrayed him well at all. I tried to give him this type of scary vibe (kind of like when Hubert acts soulless except you know... In an Arundel way) towards Byleth I guess. Also to clear up something he doesn't like her at all but she is the sword of the creator which is why he wanted her in Edelgard's class instead. Due to being more experienced and somewhat. Again can't really say anything because I'll spoil some chapters ahead of this one in the game but meh. I also apologise for the lack of fluff in this one as well since Dimitri was barely in it but I promise there will be more fluff in future chapies. I promise!
> 
> But as always thanks for reading(:


	17. Chaos and Trust

\-----

Pre timeskip, after chapter 9 and before chapter 10. Date is unknown but the moon is the Ethereal Moon.

\-----

_Dimitri despised whoever the flame emperor was._

He believes that the evil Flame Emperor was responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur. Which means his family, friends... were all killed by them. 

It was unforgivable and since that day, Dimitri promised to avenge them.

Even though its been four years since they had caused that... the Flame Emperor and his group of evil continue to keep doing revolting things such as Remire Village and murder Jeralt. His professor's father. Such acts make him want to avenge everyone even more.

Dimitri's nightmares and the souls of those who died make sure he'd never forget what his aim is. After all, that was the only reason he came to the officers academy. The memories he spent there were some of the best he's ever had but he still tried to never let himself forget his true duty.

The inner voices reminded him of it each day but ever since he went to the Officer's academy, they quieted down a lot more. He was starting to slightly forget his true duty the more he spent with his classmates and his professor. 

That was until Jeralt was murdered by **_them_**. They took another life from someone **_again_**. They turned the atmosphere gloomy **_again_**... That won't go **unpunished** and he swears by that.

To say this month's atmosphere was gloomy would be an understatement. Everyone mourned over Jeralt's passing, Dimitri included but Byleth clearly mourned the most.

Which was understandable, she lost her father just like he did. Her condition was no different to his when he lost his own father die in front him.

He tried comforting her earlier and he gave her more thoughts to think about. He hopes that he cheered up a bit from that.

But regardless if she did cheer up from that or not, she clearly was sad and it seemed as if it was going to stay like this until the enemy was found.

Dimitri had always wanted to know who was behind that mask of the Flame Emperor's. He wanted to know who the evil and heartless person that destroyed countless lives including his own. He was going to make sure he'd kill them, regardless of who that was.

However a few days after... Something made him hesitant.

Him and the professor overheard this conversation that the Flame Emperor, Thales and "Monica" were having. He attempted to attack them but they all escaped. The Flame Emperor however dropped his weapon.

When Dimitri saw the weapon, he was in shock as if he'd seen the worst thing in the world.

He was thinking to himself. "It can't be **her**... It just..." He was shocked and mortified. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He kept denying it, trying to come up with the idea that it was someone else behind that mask despite the amount of possibilities that point to the person he had in mind.

"She'd never do such a thing... There is no possible way. Why... why would she even do that? I know she wouldn't do that..." Dimitri kept denying whoever this person was. He didn't make this very clear to Byleth which is why she didn't say anything.

Dimitri had always wanted to know the evil behind that mask but...

Now... He wasn't entirely sure if he did want to know...

Regardless though if it did turn out to be who it is...

Then... They won't live long after what they had done.

Especially since he had so much memories with them...

.....

He hopes it isn't.

\-----


	18. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 1/10: "The Holy Tomb"

\-----

Pre time skip, Just before chapter 11, When everyone is going down to the holy tomb. 

\-----

_Byleth and her students were going to go down to the Holy Tomb with Rhea._

After Byleth received power from the goddess, Rhea wanted to take her and her students down to the Holy Tomb of the monastery on the 29th of this moon, so they can receive a divine revelation from the goddess just like Saint Seiros did. 

Rhea will have a ceremony in the Holy Tomb so Byleth can receive the goddesses revelation. She was also supposed to share this mission with her students.

Byleth was confused why the students were coming but Rhea said that when Seiros received the revelation, she had holy warriors by her side, protecting her. 

Byleth's students were well suited to take that role. Along with that, Rhea would also be accompanying them.

Byleth was worried about Rhea joining them in case something bad happened. Rhea appreciated the concern but she reassured Byleth that she can protect herself.

However...Byleth was nervous..

She felt like..Rhea had something planned.

Just what was it?

When it was the 29th of Pegasus Moon, it was time for them all to go to and prepare for the Holy Tomb. 

The students were shocked about going to the Holy Tomb. Receiving a real revelation from the goddess didn't feel real at all. They were in a mix of being excited and nervous. Hilda, Caspar, Dorothea, Raphael, Petra, Yuri, Hapi and Marianne weren't originally in the Blue Lion house so it may feel even more awkward with them. 

On the other hand, Dimitri while still thinking about the Holy Tomb, may be thinking about other things. He seemed to have not been himself lately. Both Byleth and Dedue noticed him acting a bit weird out of everyone. 

He reassures them both saying it was from lack of sleep and headaches but was that really the case?

Regardless, they were all guided by Rhea down to the Holy Tomb.

Dimitri was behind everyone else that were walking down to the Holy Tomb though and he even turned around a few times. He couldn't help but feel as if they were being followed.....

Ashe noticed that Dimitri was turned around for a bit of a while and went up to him.

"Your Highness? Is something the matter?" Ashe asked

Dimitri was snapped out of his thoughts after this question from Ashe. 

"No... Don't worry."

He caught up with the other students and he noticed something about Byleth.

That her arms were shaking...for some reason.

Was she scared?

\-----

Everyone was amazed from what they were seeing. To think there was a place like that was hiding down in the Monastery the whole time. 

The only one who wasn't amazed and was more scared if anything was Byleth.

She didn't know why she was so scared...

**But something felt so off...**

What is Rhea going to do?

Was it really just a "divine revelation" like she said it was?

Or was it something else?

**No..It was something else.**

**It had to be. Rhea is planning something.**

**But what can Byleth even do about it? Jeralt is gone and so was Sothis...**

Rhea showed them all the throne that the goddess Sothis had sat upon. 

Rhea turned towards Byleth. "Professor... Do you recognise this throne?"

Byleth nodded. "I do."

Rhea smiled. "So long... I have waited so very long for this day."

Byleth frowned at that and immediately regretted telling the truth.

"Sit upon the throne. I have no doubt you will be gifted a revelation from the goddess."

**_"...Gifted..."_ **

Byleth stared at the throne. 

Dimitri then noticed her arms tremble even more. He was feeling worried for her now.

"Professor? Is...there something wrong?" Dimitri asked.

"Nothing. There is nothing wrong with the Professor. I assure you that your concern is unnecessary." Rhea smiled at Dimitri and answered for Byleth.

That made it even more concerning ironically.

Rhea's thoughts said something else. _**"Absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing could be better in fact... Finally... I've finally succeeded Mother.... Finally.."**_

However Byleth said nothing but she wanted to say that there was something wrong.

But she couldn't say that obviously...

She glimpsed behind her and saw that everyone was patiently waiting for her to do it despite being unaware of what will happen.

Everyone was waiting...

She had no choice, she had to sit on the throne. 

Byleth finally did what she asked.

She waited for whatever it was that was supposed to happen.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to know but...It didn't matter.

.....

Byleth sat there for a bit of a while but nothing happened.

She felt...relieved to be honest.

Rhea on the other hand seemed disappointed. "It was supposed to be but a step away... What could possibly be missing?"

Dimitri could sense the presence from earlier again. This time, he knew for sure they were there and confronted whoever it was that followed them. "Halt! Reveal yourself!"

.....

It turns out that the Imperial Army was for some reason with the Flame Emperor and they were followed them in here. They followed them here to take possession of everything in the Holy Tomb.

The students were confused, why was the Imperial Army here? How did they get here and why is the Flame Emperor with them? 

Unfortunately the Flame Emperor being here with the Imperial Army meant only one thing...

**The Flame Emperor was connected to the empire.**

Hearing that conclusion and confirmation of the Flame Emperor being connected with the Empire made Dimitri want to vomit. 

The person that It could be would of also been able to help them get in the monastery that way too. Dimitri was really starting to lose hope. 

_"No... She'd never do something like this, snap out of it Dimitri!"_ He thought to himself.

He still tried to convince himself. _"There is no way she'd cause something so tragic. Her own mother was killed in that tragedy for goodness sake! There is no way she is the Flame Emperor!"_

Dimitri angrily confronted the Flame Emperor and asked what they were doing here in the first place.

If the Flame Emperor had no mask on, they'd give Dimitri an expression saying "It is obvious why I'm here."

The Flame Emperor told them they were in the Holy Tomb because it held great power that can rule all of Fodlan.

Dimitri looked even more furious "And to attain that power, you'll trample anything that stands in your way. **Just Like you did in Duscur** " 

Flame Emperor shook his head and denied that claim. "I had nothing to do with that."

"Quickly, retrieve the Crest Stones. Kill for them if you must." The Flame Emperor ordered the Imperial Army and they started doing exactly that.

Dimitri wasn't the only one furious however... Rhea seemed really angry too.

"Insolence! You will atone for the sin of trampling on this holy resting place!" Rhea yelled "Professor. Destroy these villainous traitors who dare dishonour our creator!"

And so they all prepared for Battle.

"I will not allow such violence from the Empire! Strike down the rebels and protect the Holy Tomb!" Rhea yelled again

"The Crest Stones are in the caskets! Open every last one of them!" One of the commanders from the Imperial Army ordered whom is known as "Metoley" 

"The Holy Tomb must not be desecrated! Protect as many of the Crest Stones as you can!" Rhea ordered Byleth and her students to protect the crest stones.

Dimitri couldn't help but feel even more angry "Heretics! What could be gained from desecrating these tombs and disgracing the dead?!" 

In battle, Byleth decided to have some of her students go and attack the soldiers that took some crest stones already. There were some demon beasts ahead however so she needed to stay cautious. 

\-----

Byleth had successfully saved most of the crest stones and defeated Metoley but the Flame Emperor had not been attacked yet. Dedue and Felix decided to use their gambit boosts with the demon beasts (Dedue had Caspar as part of the gambit while Felix had Raphael) while Mercedes healed them and Dorothea was used as support with taking extra turns for Annette, Sylvain & Ashe. 

Marianne and Dimitri though were with Byleth on her way to get the Flame Emperor. 

Dimitri and Marianne fought the soldiers around the Flame Emperor but while they did so, Byleth started to fight the Flame Emperor. Before they fought, the Flame Emperor had some words for Byleth.

"You are the one person I did not wish to make an enemy of..." Flame Emperor seemed guilty but the feeling clearly wasn't strong enough to flee. 

Dimitri heard that statement and he was feeling even more mad. This was the second time he had heard of the Flame Emperor trying to get Byleth to join them. 

Regardless, Byleth quickly defeated the Flame Emperor with the sword of the creator which the Flame Emperor seemed really weak against that exact weapon. 

The Flame Emperor wasn't dead nor close to it but was heavily injured. 

Their mask however seem to have fallen off, revealing their true identity. 

Dimitri realised this and went straight to where Byleth was so he could see more clearly who it is. 

**He could finally know who it truly was that was behind the Tragedy of Duscur.**

"Ugh..." The Flame Emperor stood back up and faced Dimitri. Then more reinforcements finally arrived. 

Dimitri finally found out who it was. He seemed shocked and had a different look in his eyes which didn't seem like it would change anytime soon. "..." 

He couldn't believe it was her.....

A new side of him completely woke up that day and it seemed like he was stuck with this side.

A side of him, not many people ever got to witness. Most didn't think it even existed.

But it did.

**Seems like the Flame Emperor wasn't the only one who had another side to them.**

\-----


	19. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 2/10: "The Unmasked Flames Of Two Individuals"

\-----

Pre time skip, Just after chapter 10, Just after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 1: The Holy Tomb" and references "Washing Dishes" part.

\-----

_Byleth, Dimitri & everyone else finally found out who the Flame Emperor was. _

Dimitri seemed shocked and had a different look in his eyes which didn't seem like it would change anytime soon. "..."

He couldn't believe it was her.....

A new side of him completely woke up that day and it seemed like he was stuck with this side.

A side of him, not many people ever got to witness. Most didn't think it even existed.

But it did.

**Seems like the Flame Emperor wasn't the only one who had another side to them.**

Dimitri looked down at the mask as the flame emperor backed away with her reinforcements.

Byleth seemed shocked to see who it was. All of the students and Rhea behind the two, couldn't believe it was her that whole time. 

Rhea was absolutely furious.

Dimitri heard something in his head...

The voices of the dead...

They were so much louder now...and so much more terrifying now...

They chanted repeatedly in his mind...

_**" I T W A S H E R ! "** _

_**" A V E N G E ! "** _

Then Byleth heard a slight chuckle from her left but despite that she continued to stare at the Flame Emperor's face.

Then Dimitri finally looked up with an extremely threatening face, laughing like he was mad.

Byleth slowly turned towards Dimitri. 

_She did not like where this was going..._

Dimitri furiously yelled at the Flame Emperor. "Is this some kind of twisted joke?!" 

The Flame Emperor- No **Edelgard** stared at Dimitri and said nothing. Dimitri was chuckling again.

Dimitri stopped laughing and had an enraged look on his face.

He grabbed his lance and stepped on the mask that Edelgard once had to cover up her identity as the Flame Emperor. 

He effortlessly broke the mask by stepping on it and continued to walk towards Edelgard.

Out of instinct, Byleth tried to comfort him and she put her hand on his shoulder. 

But Dimitri rejected it by putting off her hand that was on his shoulder and continued walking towards Edelgard.

It didn't seem like she could do anything about what was about to go down.

Edelgard's stare towards Dimitri turned into a glare as he kept walking forward.

Dimitri faced her from a distance and stopped walking. He had some words to say to her "I've been looking for you..."

"I will take that head from your shoulders-" 

He started to slightly smile and continued to snap. "And hang it from the gates of Enbarr!" 

He started charging up towards Edelgard, ready to kill. 

The reinforcements/Imperial Soldiers that were with Edelgard, all started charging up towards Dimitri.

He hit four imperial soldiers with his lance and then aimed his lance at Edelgard's head, just barely missing her neck and dropping it right after.

It didn't matter to him that he dropped the lance. He could use his hands as weapons since necks and skulls were considered **fragile** and he always unintentionally broke anything fragile. 

However this time it wasn't exactly "Unintentional".

All of the soldiers continued charging up against Dimitri, while he used his hands as weapons against them. 

He grabbed a few soldiers heads and necks. He broke them.

Another Imperial soldier started charging up against Dimitri. "Stop right there!"

But Dimitri grabbed his head before the soldier could land any attack on Dimitri and he crushed it with one hand without even looking at him.

Then he looked up at Edelgard and gave her a grin despite the blood from the Imperial Soldiers on his face and hair.

Edelgard just threw him a cold glare and said nothing.

Dimitri confronted her with his grin turned into a furious frown. "Before I break your neck, there is one thing I must ask you."

Edelgard didn't let him finish. "Stay out of my way."

Dimitri wouldn't take it. "I don't recall giving you permission to speak. Answer my question. That is all you have left to do."

Dimitri interrogated her. "Flame Emperor...no. **Edelgard**. Tell me now. Why did you cause such a tragedy?" 

_The way Dimitri said her name..._

_It felt completely different to how he used to say it._

_As if the name was some kind of evil curse._

**Though from the look of how things are going down, it may as well be an evil curse to his ears.**

Edelgard didn't really respond with anything again.

Dimitri continued to snap. "You killed your own mother, and yet you haven't even had the decency to stop and consider the reasons behind your actions. Have you?!"

Edelgard calmly denied the claim again like before. "I already told you. I had nothing to do with that."

She sounded a bit sincere but regardless, Dimitri still was snapping at her.

Dimitri didn't believe her. "Ha! It was foolish to think I could reason with a lowly beast."

Before Dimitri could do anything, some of Edelgard's Imperial Soldiers come infront of her as if they were using their lives to shield her from Dimitri. "Your Majesty! Now!" 

"You are a monster..." Dimitri started to effortlessly kill the soldiers again.

While Dimitri did that, Hubert suddenly appeared with teleportation as if he was on cue. Edelgard seemed slightly relieved to see him. "Come, Hubert!" 

Then they both escaped by teleportation. 

Rhea yelled and ranted at Edelgard and her army even though they had left already. "To flee is futile, wicked girl. The Church of Seiros will raise it's entire army against you until you have been captured and punished! You have defiled the Holy Tomb, dishonoured the goddess, and humiliated your brethren. That crime will never be erased, even if you burn in the eternal flames and spill all of your blood into the goddess's soil."

Byleth looked a bit confused from everything that she had just witnessed. Rhea reassured her "Come, Professor. Let us return and decide upon our next course of action."

She nodded and with that, Rhea started to leave. 

She heard Dimitri make a sound.

She asked if he was ok.

He didn't really answer though and closed his eyes. "We weren't able to defeat her."

Dedue came up to Dimitri. "Your Highness..."

"I will kill Edelgard. With my own hands. I swear it!" It seemed like he was promising someone, something. 

He then turned towards Byleth. "Let's return to the monastery, Professor. It is clear what must be done."

With that, they all left that but Dimitri, Dedue and Rhea were faster than everyone.

Byleth however, started to focus on her students. They had all seemed shocked from what they just witnessed. 

Shocked from this side of Dimitri they had just seen.

Well almost everyone.

Felix, just glared at Dimitri.

Which made sense, he claimed Dimitri was like a beast the entire year and chose to avoid him for that particular reason.

\-----

All the students but Dimitri and Dedue were in the classroom. Byleth was there too.

Despite it being around a while ago today since they witnessed Dimitri, they were still in major shock from what they had just witnessed. Byleth wanted to comfort them but Seteth came into the classroom.

"Professor, there is something important you need to know, please come with me now!"

Seteth seemed alarmed and Byleth did leave the classroom with him, leaving the students alone.

The students were confused about why Dimitri started to go insane when he saw the Flame Emperor unmasked as Edelgard.

There was no connection between the two.

Or at least they thought there was none.

\-----

Seteth explained what had happened when Edelgard escaped the Holy Tomb.

Some of the worst words she had ever heard.

Edelgard and the Empire declared **war** on the Church of Serios, The Kingdom Army and the Alliance.

\-----


	20. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 3/10: "To War"

\-----

Two weeks after the events of "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 2: The Unmasked Flames Of Two Individuals"

\-----

_These past two weeks have been horrifying..._

Seteth explained what had happened when Edelgard escaped the Holy Tomb.

Some of the worst words she had ever heard.

Edelgard and the Empire declared **war** on the Church of Serios, The Kingdom Army and the Alliance.

She also had plans on invading the Monastery with her army within the next two weeks.

Byleth had to calmly reassure her students the entire time before the Imperial Army invades the Monastery.

The most shocked students were the ones who used to be in the Black Eagles. Apparently Petra, was asked by Edelgard to join her army but she refused and Brigid will be fighting alongside Byleth's army which relieved Byleth because Petra is not someone she'd ever want as an enemy especially with everything thats happened. 

Dorothea and Caspar despite being in the Black Eagles in the past, don't have interest in joining the Imperial Army either and want to fight alongside Byleth even though Caspar's relatives seemed to have other ideas.

Dimitri however was the one she was the most worried about, he seemed to have stopped acting like himself and all he seemed to be talking about his taking Edelgard's head

But there wasn't exactly anything Byleth could do to stop it sadly.

Not long after Edelgard declared war, Rhea said that if anything happened to her, she'll be entrusting all of her sacred duties to Byleth.

Byleth can't believe that all the above has been two weeks ago and now the Imperial Army were going to invade the monastery at any second.

Byleth had to get all of the students ready for battle because they planned on fighting alongside the professor in protecting the Monastery. 

Dedue noticed Dimitri's mood "Your Highness. You do not seem... well."

Dimitri smiled but not in a reassuring or genuine way. "Hah! Unwell, you say? What's gotten into you? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I'm so happy I can hardly contain myself. My father. My stepmother. My dear friends. They want her head. They want her life. They've whispered as much to me. And the chance to answer their pleas has arrived, at long last!"

"Don't act rashly. We're in this together." Byleth quickly said.

He chuckled a bit. "Haha! Of course, of course. But don't mistake my intentions. Edelgard will die by my hand, and mine alone."

He continued. "Let's move, Professor. Even if it costs me my life, I won't rest until I've crushed that killer's skull in my bare hands!"

And so they did, the Imperial Army was ready to invade and so they all had to protect the monastery.

Byleth had many by her side including all of the remaining staff of the Church such as Manuela, Hanneman etc. She also had some students from the Golden Deer house help her out.

They moved on to the battlefield before anyone had even touched the Monastery. 

One of the knights of Serios had to let them all know something. "I have a report! The enemy is within the walls. They're about to break the defensive line!"

Dedue noticed something and alerted Byleth. "The archbishop and the defensive line both require our assistance. We must protect them until reinforcements get here."

They all had allies from the left and right. Despite them not being commanded by Byleth to act, they all were on their side and defended the Monastery.

Byleth had some of her students come with those allies so no imperial soldier or demon beast can attack Rhea or seize the monastery. 

There were a few more newer faces alongside Edelgard such as Randolph & Ladislava.

Byleth decided to have Caspar focus on him and she decided to be the one to focus on defeating Edelgard so the reinforcements from her will be harder on her part. She also decided to have Felix and Dimitri not far apart from her due to their strength despite the focus on them taking away reinforcements. 

After some time later when Byleth successfully commanded everyone to guard as much as possible, Caspar and Ingrid had finally run into Randolph while Byleth, Dimitri and Felix were closer to Edelgard and Ladislava. 

Caspar couldn't help but feel as if he knew this man. "Huh. This guy seems real familiar..."

Randolph definitely recognised Caspar though. "Y-you dastard! Aren't you... No..."

Caspar quickly shrugged it off "Eh that doesn't matter right now. Let's go!"

Caspar and Ingrid quickly finished off Randolph.

Randolph said something before he retreated. "Argh! I'm finished. I loathe to say it, but I must retreat." 

Meanwhile with Byleth, Dimitri and Felix. Felix quickly slayed the soldier, Ladislava and focused on the soldiers around Edelgard. 

Dimitri was told to help Felix but he refused, he recklessly faced Edelgard in battle without listening to Byleth. 

He was just so eager to kill Edelgard and avenge those who died.

"You're late. I... We are all tired of waiting." Dimitri said to Edelgard before landing any attack.

He continued. "Now, lets separate that sick head from your neck, shall we?"

Edelgard looked down slightly before she continued to face Dimitri."Heh. You never were one for patience."

Edelgard almost killed Dimitri due to him losing sight on how to truly fight. 

Byleth decided to use divine pulse and decided to end Edelgard before Dimitri could do anything. 

Edelgard had something to say to Byleth. 

"I wish you were someone whose heart could be swayed by my words and deeds." Edelgard looked down and she felt a major angry frown coming from the prince when she said that. 

Edelgard didn't stop there however. "If it were so, I would have done anything to make you my ally..."

Byleth quickly defeated Edelgard with the sword of the creator since she had done so before when she was fighting Edelgard when she was the Flame Emperor

When Byleth thought she made things easier, Edelgard had something to declare.

"You fought well. But now, your fight is over." Edelgard confidently said.

She yelled out. "Send in our reserve troops! And give my uncle the signal!"

Rhea panicked "What... is this?!"

Byleth had to go back and check on Rhea's safety, The church soldiers mentioned they'll make sure that no Imperial soldiers will follow her.

Byleth went back up to the Monastery and went to see Rhea.

She looked down and saw more and more Imperial Soldiers on their way to invade the rest of the Monastery. She glared at this sight.

Byleth was ready to grab her sword and fight them until she felt something on her shoulder.

She turned to her left and saw Rhea walking past and in front of Byleth.

Rhea looked back at Byleth and gave her a faint smile. She softly spoke "Everyone here, young and old, is in your hands." 

Byleth was concerned and looked down. She let go of her sword. 

Rhea looked back at the soldiers and Byleth ran. 

Rhea angrily said to herself. "No. I will not allow another Red Canyon tragedy to happen here."

Some green light was coming from Rhea and she turned into something else entirely.

A creature known as the **Immaculate One.**

The Immaculate One flew with it's wings and roared loudly.

Claude and Dimitri were fighting the Imperial Soldiers alongside one another.

Claude was confused and looked up at the Immaculate One. "What is going on?"

Dimitri didn't bother looking up and just continued killing as many soldiers as possible.

When Claude went back to fighting, Byleth was guiding all of the students who didn't want to be involved in this fight, to safety. She looked back and saw the Imperial Soldiers cowering in fear. 

The Immaculate One burnt a lot of the soldiers alive.

One of the Imperial Soldiers staring at The Immaculate One heard something behind him and said. "What now?"

He turned around and so did many others.

There were Golem Demon Beasts charging up against The Immaculate One.

At first The Immaculate One was doing a good job on her own but at some point was attack by too many at once making her fall back and crash into the wall.

Byleth noticed that and out of instinct, came to her aid.

The wall The Immaculate One cracked started to fall apart and she was losing the fight with those demonic beasts.

All of the students including Dimitri saw Byleth run to help out The Immaculate One.

They tried to call out to her but she couldn't hear them and even if she did, she probably wouldn't have listened. 

She grabbed her sword and aimed the sword of the creator at the Golem heads, helping The Immaculate One throw the golem at the wall.

Behind the wall was a cliff and the Golem most likely died at the end of the trip of that fall.

The Immaculate One finally was able to fight off the remaining monsters and quickly killed them. She flew away from the wall falling on top of her.

Byleth ran up to her and the Immaculate One faced her. She saw Thales a bit far behind Byleth and was frustrated that Byleth came, she asked "Why did you come?"

Byleth had a feeling that someone was about to fight her and she looked at them. Thales gave her a grin and started some Dark Magic.

Dimitri realised this and started to run up to them both but he wasn't fast enough especially with a bunch of Imperial Soldiers preventing him from going to Byleth.

He charged that magic attack and Byleth got caught in it. She used her sword to protect her from getting hurt but what it did was push her backwards.

The Immaculate One tried to help her but one of the Golem's she thought she killed was holding her back.

Byleth finally stood on the surface right in front of the edge of the cliff that the wall once protected.

"Professor! Watch out!" Someone yelled and she could slightly see someone trying to come to her aid. 

However the magic exploded behind her, causing her to fall and lose her balance.

She whimpered as she started to fall down.

The Immaculate One roared loudly. 

Byleth screamed as she fell down until she could no longer be heard.

Dimitri ran to the cliffside and saw Byleth falling down

"Professor!" He reached his hand out for her even though he knew that she wouldn't be able to get his hand.

"No..."

The Immaculate One roared loudly again and attempted to charge up against Thales.

"HOW DARE YOU?" Dimitri screamed at Thales, it seemed like this side of him completely took him away. 

"Would you like to join her your highness?" Thales smirked and started charging up another attack.

"You bastards will pay for this!" He immediately charged towards Thales to attack him even though he wasn't thinking straight. 

To say that Dimitri was furious was an understatement. He grabbed his lance and easily dodged the charge up that Thales did. 

He attempted to land an attack on Thales but he was stopped by someone's axe. 

It was Edelgard.

"Edelgard... Why do you keep taking more and more lives from people that I love?" Dimitri clashed his lance with Edelgard.

Edelgard said nothing and tried to kill him.

The remaining of the students came to Dimitri's aid.

"You won't get away so easily!" Annette yelled out at some of Thales soldiers. 

The Immaculate One looked around as if she was looking for something and sighed.

With Byleth gone, there was no way they could win. They were outnumbered and everyone here could die. 

But the chances of everyone else winning such as the Kingdom Army, Alliance and the remaining of the Church staff would be high if they all retreated now and the rest of the church surrendered.

"Retreat to your lands! Get out of here at once!" The Immaculate One roared at the kingdom armies and the alliance

Dimitri yelled at the beast. "What? But How can I avenge every-"

"I SAID LEAVE, CHANCES OF WINNING ARE LOW."

"Who and what are you?" Someone else asked.

"No we can't! Lady Rhea is still in the monas-" Catherine screamed at the struggling monster.

"This is an order! Retreat Immediately and the Church has no choice but to surrender the monastery regardless!"

"But-"

"NOW!!!!!!!!"

Everyone had no choice but to do what the Immaculate One asked. They felt...like it was the only thing they could do at the moment.

Ingrid had to convince Dimitri that they had to retreat and if he wanted to avenge them all, he must leave now.

Dimitri was finally convinced and retreated along with everyone else. 

As he was retreating, he saw a familiar looking necklace on the ground as if someone dropped it. He didn't know why but he took it with him as he ran off. For some reason, he put it far away from his heart as he was carrying it carefully while he ran.

"Forgive me, father, step mother, my friends... I couldn't avenge you now but I promised I will get her head." Dimitri thought to himself

He started to feel ill when he thought of a certain someone that "died" in this battle "And Professor... I never got to tell you something I had planned on telling you... And your death... I promise, I will not let it be in vain ever!" 

\-----


	21. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 4/10: "One Year..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Byleth will be absent for the next few parts for obvious reasons (she will be mentioned though) but I thought I should let you all know.
> 
> Also this one may be a bit disturbing to some of you due to this being focused on Dimitri's nightmares. This part is also probably the darkest one I've written for this book so far. Just a warning.
> 
> Anyways lets get to it!

\-----

Almost a year after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 3: To War" and after the event that happened when Dimitri retreated back to the Kingdom.

\-----

_After the monastery fell, things kept getting worse and worse._

During the invasion the ones defending Garreg Mach had no choice but to surrender.

The monastery collapsed and Rhea had gone missing. The Church of Seiros were dispatched to find Rhea and Byleth. They were scattered around everywhere.

Since they all left, the monastery at Garreg Mach had fallen to ruin and became a haven for thieves.

However Not long after Dimitri returned back to the kingdom, a bad incident had taken place.

Dimitri's uncle Rufus, had been murdered and Dimitri had been falsely accused by a Mage whom had been working at the Kingdom for 20 years named Cornelia, of killing him.

An execution was planned to take place but Dimitri escaped from the jails before it could be done.

Dedue had helped him escape and despite not seeing it happen, Dimitri thinks Dedue had gotten murdered from helping him, making Dimitri's desire to kill Edelgard and the Imperial Army even more extreme again.

Despite Dimitri's escape from the kingdom, Imperial Loyalist Cornelia announced to the public that he was dead and she took the Kingdom throne herself, leading Faerghus.

She accepted forces from the Empire to destroy all those many remaining Kingdom forces that are opposed to her like House Gautier and Fraldarius.

Dimitri had not seen any allies or classmates since they all retreated from the Monastery. He has not seen anyone else from the kingdom army like Rodrigue or any of the church staff.

It has been almost a year since that day he escaped, the kingdom army never bothered looking for him because most thought he was dead but since his body was never shown to the public either, there was some belief that he may still be alive.

Dimitri had wandered throughout Fodlan far and wide.

He saw many things in the land that he never saw when he lived as royalty.

Including the slums in Faerghus... Those who suffered in poverty.

And they apparently had gotten worse ever since the war started...

He had never been to place like that before...

It was downright...heart wrenching to see so many people suffer...

But not long after he left there, he wished that the future ruler of Fodlan will save those people whom are suffering in such a way...

He knows it won't be him...

**_But he'll make sure that the ruler will never be Edelgard either since she most likely will make it even worse especially considering she was the one who was apparently the cause of so much of their despair..._ **

\-----

He later found some field in the alliance territory. He was still on his own but he could see people around him that no one else could see. Those whom have passed on, haunting him.

Again...

They would chant in his ears, constantly reminding him what he must do.

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" A V E N G E "_ **

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

They'd follow him everywhere, whether they would follow him when he was walking in the day time or in his nightmares during night time.

They would always appear.

However their voices kept getting louder and louder.

And... the amount of people increased.

Including Dedue, Jeralt and Byleth.

He had the same nightmare with Jeralt as a focus for the past two weeks and his ghost seemed to have followed Dimitri more than before.

He first had the nightmare a year after Byleth's "death" and it came up occasionally. Jeralt would only show up as a haunting ghost along with everyone else but never was seen on his own.

However it has been happening again more recently and the nightmares started again on the 30th of Guardian Moon and Jeralt kept appearing again and only him. Furious with him.

Dimitri, went to sleep on the cold hard ground like always and fell asleep on the night of Pegasus Moon 11th. He had another nightmare again but it was different this time.

Dimitri was at Remire Village, it was in fire and chaos. Just like that mission in the officers academy a long time ago on Red Wolf Moon.

There was no one there, just burnt houses and fire everywhere until Dimitri heard some footsteps from behind.

He turned around.

It was Jeralt staring at him, wide eyed.

He stopped in front of Dimitri, making him wanting to cry.

"Why haven't you avenged my daughter and me?" He asked.

"Jeralt!"

"Were we not important to you? Didn't you love her?"

"Y-"

"Aren't we important too?"

King Lambert and his step mother Patricia came up behind Jeralt, facing Dimitri

"Kill her, We want her head. Avenge us if you truly care!" Glenn, Dedue and his other friends who passed came up with his parents.

"I'll do it and I'll join you all right after your wi-"

"My daughter would be having her birthday tomorrow if you had killed that beast beforehand Dimitri" Jeralt blurts out.

"I-"

\-----

Dimitri was interrupted by himself when he was woken up by someone.

"Finally the loser is awake, So brat we will consider letting you live if you tell us where ya gold is, otherwise we'll kill ya"

Dimitri barely awake and saw that he was being held down to the ground by a group of bandits.

Dimitri didn't say anything until his eyes caught a glimpse on one of the bandits. They were holding the necklace that he carefully kept all this time.

He started to get angry...

"Hey brat, did you hear me?" The bandit attempted to slap him on the face but Dimitri was able to crush the bandits arms that were originally holding him down and escaped from their arms.

"Hey! What do you think your doing Pipsqueak?" The bandit yelled at him and they all charged their weapons against him.

Dimitri used his hands as weapons again and crushed one of the bandit's skulls, quickly killing him. He grabbed the weapon from his hands and killed the rest of the bandits horridly.

There was one left, on the ground, afraid and begging to be spared. The same bandit who was holding on to the same necklace from before.

"P-please I'll do whatever you want, j-just d-d-don't hurt me!" The bandit seemed completely different from before.

Dimitri looked down on that bandit and snickered at him.

"Heh"

"W-what's so funny?" The bandit was really frightened.

"You. How pathetic you are"

"What?"

"A monster pretending to be a human by begging for their life. It sickens me that lowly beasts such as yourself exist." Dimitri killed him before he could even give the bandit a chance to respond. 

"You........." was the last thing to come from the bandit's mouth.

He grabbed the necklace from the Bandit's hand. He stared at it and his anger grew.

"I will kill as many evil beasts in this world for your birthday tomorrow Professor! I will get Edelgard's head soon and then I will join you all, I swear I'll kill Edelgard and her little dogs." He yelled out at the top of his lungs as he continued to cry his eyes out.

This was his life now..... 

**There was no turning back...**

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The game never mentioned if Dimitri ever got nightmares about Jeralt so I wanted to write about that. This will also be important to a part that happens way... WAY WAY later so yeah...
> 
> Also sorry this was so short and different compared to other parts.


	22. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 5/10: "Two Years..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay I may have made a warning already in the previous part but I think I should warn you all here too. This part is a bit gruesome and a lot darker compared to other parts in this series. I apologise in advance. 
> 
> Also this part is a bit later than I intended but I ended up having a bit of a busy day today. Regardless, here it is!

\-----

A Year after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 4: One Year" and sometime around Garland Moon.

\-----

_"Hey we need to be careful going into the kingdom territory! I heard there is an unknown vicious killer hunting down Imperial Soldiers"_

One Imperial Soldier warned their general who planned on going to the Kingdom Territory for reports along with the rest of the army.

"That's just a rumour, I'm sure it's just made up." The general attempted to reassure the soldier but he didn't successfully do it.

"But how do you explain the dead bodies of our soldiers occasionally found in the Kingdom Territory since early last year? and... not to mention it's been happening even more?"

Another soldier jumped into the conversation

"I heard that this killer isn't even human."

The general was getting agitated "Look. You all are so stupidly gullible. I highly doubt that someone like that even exists and also don't forget they are just rumours!"

The soldiers apologise "Yes sir, sorry sir!"

The general sighed and continued his journey to the kingdom territory along with the army.

\-----

The Journey seemed to have gone just fine for the most part.

"Rumours will be rumours, these idiot soldiers can believe anything" The general thought to himself and sighed in relief that they weren't attack.

Sadly for him, he got relieved too early.

A few minutes later, He heard one of the soldiers making a major scream behind him, catching the attentions of all of the other soldiers around him.

The soldier quickly died.

The killer stopped looking at the dead soldiers body and took his lance out of the corpse. He had some blood on his face and blood on his hair from the dead soldier's corpse. He faced the remaining soldiers that were staring at him.

The murderer's long blonde hair covered his face but his eyes were still slightly visible.

It was the most deadly look the soldiers had ever seen, terrifying them.

It was Dimitri.

"You must be..... Everyone! Attack this... this sick beast now!" General and his soldiers were ready to fight.

Well technically they weren't ready because they were terrified of this man standing before them.

They all charged up against the killer but they had no chance.

Dimitri had badly injured all of them making them all drop to the floor, unable to stand.

"No... no this can't be happening, no.. I can't die yet, I won't die... not to such a beast" The general was horrified but had a strong will.

"Why.. do you take such pleasure from killing people like this?! You have nothing to gain!" One soldier screamed out bravely.

Dimitri faced him and walked slowly to him.

The soldier tried to get up but it's legs were too injured to let him stand.

He was stuck, he desperately wanted this beast in front of him to disappear.

However the soldier knew it was over for him.

Dimitri finally stopped right in front of him and leaned down to the soldiers face.

"Thats quite the confidence you've got on your face there, shall I cut it off for you?"

Dimitri stabbed the soldier and then quickly killed him. Scaring all of the soldiers around them.

\-----

There was only one last Imperial Soldier that Dimitri had yet to kill.

The Imperial General of that army.

"You.... you.... dishonourable bastard! How could you do such a thing you heartless-"

"Oh please... you're no different to me..." Dimitri looked down upon the soldier and started to look angry.

"What are you talking about? Don't you dare compare me to you! I would've nev-

Dimitri accidentally killed the Imperial General in rage, he couldn't take the general's denial any longer.

"See you in the eternal flames... Maybe I'll meet you and the rest of the emperor's dogs there soon too..." Dimitri put his lance away and left.

He was used to doing this at this point. It had been over a year since he killed those bandits on the day before the Professor's birthday and he started killing Imperial Soldiers along with the bandits and thieves he had been killing before.

\-----

A while later, someone had found these soldiers gruesome bodies left on the ground and it had been reported.

This incident has been known as the worst one due to the amount of soldiers lost from an unknown being.

Gilbert, one who had lost all hope started to regain it from hearing these rumours because from the way this murderer was described sounded like Dimitri. Maybe to Gilbert his highness, may still be alive.

He decided to look into these rumours and follow them through more and more.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Honestly though, this one felt weird to write and I do apologise if I poorly wrote this one or made it too extreme. I'm really sorry if that is the case.


	23. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 6/10: "Three Years..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again this one is gruesome, be careful!

\-----

A year after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 5: Two Years..." and sometime in Verdant Moon.

\-----

_It was year 1184 and Dimitri continued to live the horrid way he was now used to living._

In all this time of living, his height grew a lot and his hair got much longer and wild.

Dimitri didn't care about that anymore because all he wants is to kill the Emperor and her little dogs.

He wanted to kill all of them.

No matter what.

He would regularly hunt down Imperial Soldiers, Thieves & Bandits with no hesitation. It became a hobby at this point.

That's how impactful this war was.

However he fought in a battle against some Imperial Soldiers by himself at one point and this one very much impacted him.

Dimitri had found a camp that the Imperial Soldiers had been resting in the Kingdom Territory and waited to attack.

He hid himself as they all got ready to sleep.

One of the soldiers yawned.

The soldier walking alongside him playfully punched that soldier that yawned in the arm and chuckled. "You keep getting tired often these days."

"Ugh I can't help it buddy..."

"You'll turn into **Linhardt** at some point if you keep this up, sure he is a great mage but his ability to fall asleep all the time is ridiculous."

The yawning soldier snorted at that statement.

They kept talking until Dimitri attacked one of the two soldiers all of a sudden when they were reachable to kill. Dimitri had his hands on his neck from behind.

"What the? Where did you-"

Before the soldier could finish their sentence, his neck was snapped, making those words his last.

The soldier that was originally yawning and ready to sleep was suddenly wide awake. This didn't go unnoticed by Dimitri.

"It seems like your fully awake now." Dimitri said and the soldier looked terrified.

The soldier screamed to get the other soldiers in the camp's attention until Dimitri finished him off.

The other soldiers came running out of their tents, in absolute shock in what they had just seen.

"No way... your that beast everyone's been talking about!" One of the soldiers cried.

"You're... the same disgusting beast who killed my brother whom was an Imperial Soldier! I'll kill you!" One of the soldiers started to charge up against him.

Dimitri understood how that soldier felt but he didn't bother letting him off the hook. The soldier was still a monster dog to the emperor.

Dimitri quickly injured the soldier before he could land any attacks and finished him off.

The other soldiers became furious. They wanted this evil man before them to perish as fast as possible.

But Dimitri killed them all very easily and severely injured the leader of the Imperial Soldiers.

Dimitri had other ideas for that leader.

Once he was done with the remaining other soldiers, he came up to the badly wounded leader. The leader still had a dagger with him but that was all.

"Any last words before I kill you?" Dimitri leaned down over to the leader and stared at him.

The soldier gazed back at him.

"Yes... your prince Dimitri of Faerghus aren't you?"

"I'm no prince anymore... I'm just a walking corpse."

"I see.... and if your a walking corpse then you probably can't feel THIS!"

"Wha-"

Dimitri was cut off by the dagger the leader pulled out and stabbed Dimitri in the eye.

Dimitri screamed out in pain as blood came out of his eye, it felt horrible.

Dimitri looked furious at the soldier and immediately killed him.

"Nghhh......" Dimitri put his hand over his eye and saw out of his other eye the blood that came out of it.

Though he knew he deserved it... He took away so many lives...

"Not enough people..."

Dimitri heard one of the ghosts again. It sounded like Glenn. Dimitri looked up with his other eye and he saw that Glenn was walking towards him.

 **"You clearly don't care to avenge us if you hold back, Edelgard being your step sister that you loved is the reason your holding back isn't it?"** Glenn haunted Dimitri.

"N-no Glenn, I hate Edelgard and I won't ever hold back"

"Why should we believe a son as unworthy as you!" Dimitri's father showed up too.

"Father!"

"Kill her, avenge us, we need to rest in peace" All of the ghosts started to appear.

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

They all started their chants again...

Dimitri could only see the ghosts with one eye instead of two eyes. He could feel the blood from his eye dripping down on his cheek.

_Something that will take some time to get used to._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry if it is poorly written, ahh I know I should stop apologising but I can't help it, I get worried if I messed something up.
> 
> But thank you all for reading regardless(:


	24. Nowhere Left To hide Part 7/10: "Four Years..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This part focuses on Gilbert this time. Sorry it's so short again...

\-----

A year after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 6: 3 Years..." and takes place in Horsebow Moon, 1185. References "The Prince's Birthday" part and "Wonders Of The Future" part.

\-----

_Gilbert had been following rumours about Dimitri's whereabouts for a while now._

Since these rumours about a vicious murderer killing the soldiers were true from the locations he went to.

He was confident this murderer was Dimitri despite the fact it isn't entirely confirmed to be him.

However there were a lot of things pointing it towards Dimitri.

Dimitri's thirst for revenge against the Imperial Army would be the reason why he'd attack Imperial Soldiers, people describing him looking like a blonde haired beast. Wearing lots of blue. Only seen attacking in the kingdom territory. Imperial Soldiers deaths were described as gruesome and hard to imagine as human. The fact that some of the soldiers were killed by having their necks snapped...

**All of these lead to Dimitri being connected to the killer.**

One thing that concerned Gilbert though was that after Verdant Moon last year, he was described wearing an eyepatch.

However his suspicions were correct from the recent attack the murderer had done.

In that attack, the murderer had dropped something and left it behind.

A ceremonial sword.

Dimitri had gotten a sword just like that for his birthday from the professor, Gilbert remembers it because he had seen Dimitri use it in the past and he asked about the sword. He mentioned he had gotten it from the professor for his birthday.

The sword looked so much like the one Dimitri had that Gilbert definitely knew it was Dimitri.

He decided to look everywhere for him.

He even had some of the classmates such as Ashe help out in finding the location of Dimitri.

They desperately wanted him back.

Ashe suggested something to Gilbert.

"Well, I'll be sure to check the Monastery on the 24th of Ethereal Moon this year!" Ashe remembered the promise he had made to all of his friends.

Gilbert was confused. It seemed like he didn't know anything about it. "The monastery? Why there?"

"All of the Blue Lion students including His Highness and the professor promised to meet up at the monastery five years from that day!"

Gilbert shook his head. "The Professor coming to the Monastery that day is very unlikely at this point but His Highness.... hmm"

"There is a chance that he might show up! I mean..." Ashe started to doubt his own words.

"Well I'll have a soldier check around there when the time comes but I don't have high confidence that his highness nor the professor will show up." Gilbert shook his head.

Ashe sighed. "Alright"

\-----


	25. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 8/10: "Memories"

\-----

Three months after "Nowhere Left To Hide Part 7: 4 Years...", 22nd of Ethreal Moon, Year 1185, almost Five years after "Wonders Of The Future." The morning.

\-----

_Dimitri woke up differently to normal due to having an unfamiliar dream._

It was... a weird dream.

It started with him, being alone in the dark, wandering around.

Until... he saw his father Lambert walk up towards him.

Dimitri already knew what he was going to say and quickly said something before his father could say it for him.

"I will kill Edelgard Father! I-"

"That's not why I am here." Lambert cut off his son.

Dimitri seemed confused. "Huh?"

Others whom also lost their lives such as Glenn, his stepmother, Dedue & Jeralt came up from behind.

 _"Go to Garreg Mach Monastery..."_ They all said in a soft tone instead of their angry one.

"What? But why d-"

 _"Go now! Keep that other promise you made for me and everyone else..."_ A familiar voice said out of nowhere.

Dimitri recognised the voice and tried to find the one whom had it. No one had one like hers.

_No one...had a voice like Byleth..._

He could finally see her appearing while all the other ghosts around him now faded away.

She appeared and walk in front of everyone else. She went straight to Dimitri and faced him.

"Dimitri! Wake up and keep your promise!" Byleth said.

"What! But I..."

_"Please..."_

There was some sudden sunlight that suddenly appeared behind her. Dimitri had no idea what promise she was talking about.

He woke up right after that light, putting him in major confusion.

He looked up around him.

There were ghosts all around him, they seemed completely different to how they were in his dream...

He stood up and was scared.

The chants were in his ears but...he knew he needed to do something.

He needed to go to the monastery...

Dimitri wasn't sure what to think of his dream.

But...

There was something inside of him, as if it was his older side, screaming at him to go to the Monastery and...

He feels like he should listen to it.

As if that was more important than killing Edelgard.

So.. He did and made his journey to the monastery.

\-----

The trip to going to the monastery wasn't easy but he made it.

However there were Imperial Soldiers investigating the places that were once the reception hall and entrance hall of the Monastery, looking for thieves.

Dimitri saw these Imperial Soldiers and his anger took over.

He murdered them all, one by one.

He then later on killed some of the thieves before any new ones could arrive.

Once he was done, it was late at night.

Something there was still screaming at him.

Telling him to stay there, never leave. Whatever this was, it was somehow more impactful and special to him than the normal haunting inner voices he has

He listened despite the chants saying otherwise. He thinks that Edelgard may come later and thats why they are telling him to stay.

Or... Maybe it could be something else...

_"Will something happen here? Would that...something help me live aga-"_

Dimitri threw away those thoughts out of his mind.

 ** _"No... It's revenge... It has to be..."_** Dimitri said under his breath.

He first went down to the greenhouse and buried some fragile looking necklace which was once where the Valerian flowers bloomed.

The same voice was told him to do it and he knew exactly why it did....."

.....

He then slept in the Cathedral that night and he stayed in the same exact spot until the night of the 23rd.

Somehow the public had heard of these incidents despite not knowing who was responsible for them and called these incidents "rumours."

So newer Imperial Soldiers went to investigate these rumours to see if they were true.

Dimitri could hear them and decided to go hide near the stairs of the Goddess Tower.

The Goddess Tower...

Dimitri accidentally goes out of his hiding spot and goes up stairs to the Goddess Tower.

He went up, he seemed to have completely forgotten about the soldiers.

It felt special and nostalgic to him for some reason.

He couldn't help but feel as if he had... been there before...

With someone, someone very special to him.

Someone he had some strange special feeling towards and only that person...

He looked around with his one eye and felt like crying.

"Hey! You there! Were you the one that killed these other soldiers?!" The Imperial Soldier was yelling from the stairs snapping Dimitri back into reality.

The other soldiers heard the yelling soldier and followed him to the stairs.

"Are you that vicious beast who's been murdering all of the Imperial Soldiers?"

Dimitri just stared at him with tears in his eye.

"I should have known it was you who did this! Come on everyone, let's kill this guy!"

They all charged up against him, Dimitri grabbed his lance and quickly killed them all.

He wasn't necessarily angry though, he felt sad this time.

Like he was going to cry, which was why he wasn't too vicious with them.

Once he killed them all, instead of letting their bodies stay in the goddess tower, he threw them down the stairs, as if it was some type of garbage.

Dimitri wanted to stay in this tower, something about it was _mesmerising_ but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

So he stayed there as if he was waiting for someone...

And for some reason, none of the ghosts were around him nor talking to him.

Dimitri didn't sleep in the goddess tower, instead he sat down, had his lance facing the ceiling and looked down.

He remained that way for the rest of the night and for the morning.

The morning of the 24th of Ethereal Moon.

_A day that felt so familiar to Dimitri..._

But something disturbed him from his thoughts.

He heard some footsteps from the Monastery.

However something screamed at him to not bother with it.

The Sunlight was getting closer to shining on the Goddess Tower.

The footsteps noises were getting closer and closer.

He then heard those footsteps slowing walking on the stairs and slowing getting closer to where he was.

The footstep noises came to an end and Dimitri felt someone's presence staring at him.

Despite that though he still had his head down for a bit until the sun shined on the Goddess Tower, then he slightly looked up.

He couldn't see who it was because they were in the shade but they kept walking closer to him which had them walk in the sun.

Dimitri recognised her...

The Professor...

He knew the day would come when her ghost would haunt him out of his dreams and in real life.

He was frightened but he wasn't surprised.

She stopped walking for a second, staring at him but then she continued to walk to him.

She stopped in front of him and reached for his hand with her hand.

Dimitri looked up at her with a glare.

He then looked back down and finally said something with a broken voice. "I should've known..."

He then looked away a bit further from her and continued. "that one day... you would be haunting me as well."

\-----


	26. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 9/10: "Reunited"

\-----

The night of the 23rd of Ethreal Moon, year 1185. A little bit before Dimitri killed those Imperial Soldiers in the previous part. Focuses on Byleth.

\-----

_Byleth heard a familiar voice despite the fact she couldn't open her eyes._

_"You... How long do you intend to sleep? Your body is awake. Your eyes must open now, and you must find the strength to stand upon those legs of yours."_

Byleth knew who this voice was, it made her feel a bit reassured to hear her voice again.

This voice continues. _"Like so much rain, a pool of blood has fallen to the ground... As spears and arrows pierce the earth, it weeps. And even now... it weeps. In order to survive, they kill. And so, the people of this world lost in the Abyss of suffering. They weep as well. The only one who truly knows the nature of such things is I... Or rather, you."_

Byleth instinctively said. "I'm still sleepy..."

This irritated the owner of the mysterious voice.

The mysterious voice sighed at Byleth's response _"You are a complete utter fool! Have you not changed one bit?! Get on your feet. Right now! I'll coddle you no more! You are just like a child, always needing me to hold your hand..."_

And just like that a bright shined and Byleth opened her eyes.

She saw some kind of villager, looking at her strangely from above.

"Hey! A-are you awake?" they asked.

Byleth got up and looked at him, confused. It seemed to have been night time but she couldn't really tell what time.

"Where am I?"

The villager answered. "We're in a village at the base of the monastery. What are you doing in a place like this? I honestly didn't expect to find someone floating away down the river... Garreg Mach is upstream of here, but that place was abandoned."

Byleth was even more confused. Garreg Mach had gotten abandoned?

"What do you mean?" She couldn't help but ask.

The villager was surprised that Byleth didn't know about what happened. "Huh you don't know? The Church of Seiros isn't there anymore. Though there have been some folks still living there in the five years since... Well, you know."

Byleth was getting more and more shocked. she thought to herself. _"Had it been five years since.... that day I fell?! No... it couldn't be."_

The villager sighed. "Anyways, I've heard some thieves have been spotted around those parts these days."

Byleth quickly something. "What year is it?"

The villager continued to be weirded out. It was an unusual situation. "Um, are you feeling all right? You didn't hit your head or anything, did you? It's the Ethereal moon of the year 1185. It's been nearly five years since the monastery fell. Tomorrow was supposed to be the millennium festival, but who's got time to think about things like that?"

The millennium festival... that sounded very familiar to Byleth.

"The millennium festival..." she accidentally said out loud to herself.

The villager continued. "Uh yeah, that is what I said. But with the war and the archbishop still being missing and all... I doubt there's a soul to be found who has enough blessings worth counting."

Byleth realised she had a promise!

A promise she made with the Blue Lion house which was to meet up with them in five years, on the Millennium Festival... which was tomorrow!

She knew exactly what she had to do.

She turned around, preparing to leave.

The villager was startled from this sudden movement. "Hey! Slow down, will ya? Where do you think you're going?"

"The monastery."

The villager was mortified. "Are you crazy?! I told ya! They say thieves are running amok up there, and there's plenty of other dangers too. I heard a rumour that Imperial Soldiers went up there to investigate and got **slaughtered. Every last one**!"

After hearing that part of the Imperial Soldiers, Byleth knew that she had to go even more now.

The villager was still trying to stop her. "Come on, I promise I won't say you're a coward. Just forget about going anywhere near the monastery."

Byleth shook her head. It didn't seem like she was going to give up going to the monastery no matter what the villager says. "You just remember I tried to stop you, got it? It's not on my conscience if you wind up dead!"

"My students are waiting for me." Byleth said outloud.

"Students? You really are crazy, aren't you? There aren't any kids anywhere near that place anymore?"

Byleth ignored him and started to make her way to the monastery.

While she left, she heard the villager mumble to himself. "Unbelievable..."

Regardless, she asked other villagers for some directions to the monastery.

Majority of them thought she was joking but they couldn't believe someone would even want to go to that place at all. They warned her but she still wanted to go. They gave her the directions and now Byleth knows where to go. It seemed to be a long journey.....

\-----

It took all night to get to the monastery but Byleth wasn't exactly sleepy because she had been sleeping for a good five years. Even if she did go back to sleep, the owner of that mysterious voice would probably wake her up again.

Regardless, she finally made it past the thieves and into the monastery in the morning of the next day.

She went into the entrance hall, It felt such a long time since she had been here. However, the only thing that felt the most unnatural about the place was the bodies of Imperial Soldiers scattered around everywhere. They seemed to have all been stabbed by some lance judging from the massive shaped cut.

Byleth decided to look elsewhere, she didn't feel very comfortable seeing those bodies on the ground.

She looked around the knights hall and the stables but no luck in finding anybody or anything for that matter.

Then the Dining hall, again no luck.

After that, she checks in the Blue Lion classroom.

She felt nostalgic and sad, it's clearly the villager was being serious about Garreg Mach being abandoned.

Still she looked around the classroom and when she was finished she then went inside her old quarters.

"Same old, same old..." Byleth mumbled to herself.

She shrugged it off and continued to look around. She found herself in the reception hall and again... there were some bodies of Imperial Soldiers with the same type of wounds.

Byleth decided to go further and went into the cathedral.

She couldn't believe it...

"What happened to this place? How did this.... When did this....?" She was lost for words.

Despite that, she decided to keep looking.

She then eventually found the stairs to the goddess tower.

Oh how she remembers that place...

She and Dimitri went there a while ago.

However that wasn't the only thing that came to mind.

There were bodies there again, scattered around the bottom of the stairs.

Byleth decided to walk up these stairs, feeling like she's going to vomit from looking at them which unintentionally slowed up her pace up the stairs.

She made it up the stairs and there was someone there...

Someone she had seen in the goddess tower in the past...

It was... a guy with long, blonde hair, wearing a gigantic blue coat and an eyepatch. He was Sitting down with his whole face staring at the ground with his weapon facing up. He was sitting in the shade or rather the dark part of the Goddess Tower.

Byleth couldn't believe it but she knew it had to be him...

Dimitri...

She had no idea...what to think...

The sun shined on the goddess tower while he finally looked up

Byleth walked towards him which had her walking out of the shade herself and into where the sunlight was.

Dimitri was able to recognise her from this sunlight.

He looked a bit intimidated but not surprised.

Byleth stopped walking for a second to stare at him. She couldn't believe what happened to him.

What this war may have done to him...

She starting walking towards him again and stopped when she was right in front of him.

She reached for his hand, as if she was making some attempt to console him.

Dimitri didn't reach back and just glared at her.

He then looked back down and finally said something with a broken voice. "I should've known..."

He then looked away a bit further from her and continued "that one day... you would be haunting me as well."

He stood up and faced her.

"You... What must I do to be rid of you?" Dimitri sounded as if Byleth was haunting him.

Byleth was confused. Was he mad at her? Well it would make sense since she did disappear for five years.

"I will kill that woman, I swear it. Do not look upon me with scorn in your eyes!" He looked down to the ground.

Byleth was confused now, she didn't really know what he was talking about anymore but she wanted to do something... She kindly and gently spoke. "Everything will be OK."

Dimitri was not expecting that answer. He realises that this is no ghost. She would be acting completely different if that were the case.

 _"Has she been alive this whole time?"_ He was wondering.

"..." Dimitri looked back up at her.

"You... It can't be! You're alive?!" He couldn't believe it. He thought he saw her die!

Dimitri got rid of those hopes quickly and jumped to a different conclusion. It would just be too convenient for her to show up like this all of a sudden.

"Hmph. If that is the case... That can only mean you are another Imperial spy. Did you come here to kill me? Answer the question."

For him to claim that, it annoyed Byleth a bit. "Of course not."

"Ungh..." He walked past her, not even looking at her.

Byleth was relieved. "I'm glad you're safe."

He stopped walking but he didn't look at her. He found that to be an unusual word to use to describe him as of right now. "Am I?"

He then continued to walk and he went down the stairs of the Goddess Tower, to the cathedral. Byleth followed him from behind.

He was staring at how ruined the cathedral was. "..."

"What have you been doing the past five years?"

Someone had walked in without either of them realising and walked out. Byleth's focus was completely on Dimitri and Dimitri wasn't even focusing on anything.

Dimitri's answer wasn't exactly one anyone would want to hear. "I have been dead, more or less."

"Why do you say that?"

"What do you hope to gain asking me that? There are more important matters at hand..."

"..." She couldn't think of how to respond.

Dimitri spoke again. "Do you not smell them? Filthy rats. Everywhere."

Byleth again didn't know how to respond but that just made Dimitri continue talking. "And traces of those who were here long ago. And thieves, crawling from the woodwork, attacked by the promise of treasure."

He turned away to the left. "Heh... Since the monastery fell, order in the area fell right along with it. You must have been the state of the town near Garreg Mach on your way here. Vile thieves run rampant. They pillage and loot to their heart's content. **I must kill them. Every last one. It's time to hunt down their nest.** "

"What do you plan to do?"

"I told you. I will kill them all."

"We don't have to kill them to stop them."

Dimitri didn't seem like he was going to show any mercy whatsoever. "They must die. Someone must put an end to this cycle of the strong trampling the weak. Or do you condone their actions? Do you believe that that pillaging and slaughtering those rats live for is justified?!"

Byleth really couldn't comment on that because obviously it wasn't justified. Dimitri looked away and spoke again. "It is reprehensible, and they must be put down! I intend to give them a taste of the pain they have inflicted on others. Even if it means becoming a rat myself. I swore to at least do that much... I will not let them down."

Byleth wasn't exactly very confident in this 'plan' because there are a few issues with it. "Can just the two of us hope to prevail?"

Dimitri didn't seem to care about the consequences for himself. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is killing those who deserve to die."

He walked away to go and fight the thieves. Byleth followed.

\-----

At the outer city wall, Gilbert was waiting for some information from the soldier to see if Dimitri was there like Ashe he might be.

The soldier he sent to look for him at the Monastery returned. Telling that Dimitri was there.

"Good work. I should've known to check the monastery... Let's move, quickly." Gilbert felt a bit silly for not being that confident about Dimitri not being there when he talked to Ashe those months ago.

"Yes, Sir!"

Gilbert looked down "Dimitri... I'm on my way."

\-----


	27. Nowhere Left To Hide Part 10/10: "The Millennium Festival"

\-----

Right after "Nowhere left to hide part 9: Reunited" and when Byleth & Dimitri make it to the thieves' area

\-----

_Byleth & Dimitri made it to the main place where thieves are hunting for treasure._

It was still shocking that the monastery had become the perfect place for thieves even though it had been five years...

There were so many of them scattered around the place. Even though Byleth and Dimitri were strong, she wasn't entirely confident that they'd be able to win this fight since they were at a major disadvantage.

However when they did get there, Dimitri had finally said something. "It smells of blood and sewage. Seems I've finally found their nest."

The main leader of these thieves (whose name was Pallardo) must of somehow heard Dimitri because the leader shifted his attention on him. Once he realised the situation, he had something to command to all of the other thieves and bandits working with him. "What the... Intruders! Protect the goods!"

And so all of the thieves around them started to prepare for battle. They even thought that once they've killed the intruders, they could take some hidden treasure from them.

With this, Byleth and Dimitri themselves had also prepared for battle.

Before Byleth could do anything, Dimitri said something again. "Shall we go rat hunting? Don't let a single vermin escape!"

Byleth didn't respond and just started to command.

Surprisingly though, Dimitri is sort of listening to her when it comes to commanding. Most likely because he knew that her type of commanding had never failed once before.

Though he didn't always entirely listen unfortunately.

There were too many thieves for them both to take. There were way too many.

This didn't stop Dimitri though. It didn't seem like anything would at all.

Byleth focused on a few thieves at once due to how outnumbered she was compared to everyone else.

There were many archers, brawlers & swordsmen aiming towards her. Dimitri also had his hands covered with many other thieves around him.

Unlike her though, he seemed to have more things under control when it came to fighting them.

He had gotten much stronger in these past five years.

It scares Byleth to think how or why he got stronger.

She didn't question him about it though, she clearly didn't want to hear the answer.

Byleth was still surrounded, she decided to use some concoctions to heal herself from being hit from those archers.

She did counter attack a lot of the thieves and did kill but she still continued to get hurt especially from the archers.

Dimitri also started to struggle and get more surrounded. Clearly neither of them were going to do to well here.

Byleth could see some people arriving. She couldn't see them but she was really hoping there weren't more thieves arriving.

If so, she may have to use divine pulse. She tries to avoid using it but if there are indeed more thieves, the chances of her and Dimitri winning this fight would be low.

However luckily for her it was no thief but... a familiar face?

"I feel as if I've seen this orange haired man before so-" Byleth said out loud but quickly cut herself off.

She realised who it was, it was Gilbert! He was one of the church staff at the monastery! He also accompanied her class when they were fighting Miklan.

Gilbert arrived in heavy armour. It seemed like someone was following him from behind but it was hard to tell.

Gilbert seemed relieved to see Dimitri but was shocked to see who was with him...

"His Highness! And... Professor? We must speak later."

The person behind Gilbert finally showed themselves. Byleth could also feel as if there were two more people coming near them but she couldn't think about that right now. She was more shocked to see the person that arrived with Gilbert.

It was Ashe.

He seemed surprised at what happened to the monastery and to see everyone else.

"I know it's been five years, but I never expected the monastery to end up like this."

Then two more others arrived all of a sudden.

It was Mercedes and Annette!

Byleth felt so happy to see the three students, as if she didn't even care about almost dying a second ago.

"Oh! I haven't seen any of you in such a long time! I'm glad to see you're alive." Mercedes seemed so happy to see them all.

Annette was also happy but she knew she had to focus on the thieves as a main priority. "We'll help out from here! It's over, thieves!"

Dimitri was really confused to see Gilbert, Ashe, Mercedes & Annette. He looked shocked. "Why... Why are you here?"

Before anyone could answer, Byleth knew she had to defeat these thieves rather than focus on chatting and catching up with everyone.

Gilbert, Ashe, Annette & Mercedes came to her and Dimitri's aid.

Annette and Ashe helped out Byleth while Gilbert helped out Dimitri. There were more thieves after Byleth which was why.

Mercedes decided to focus on healing everyone and fight some thieves with the reason spells.

They had some words to say to Byleth.

Ashe was the first one who reached to her. "We promised five years ago we'd meet here and now!"

Byleth was smiling back, she was so happy to see that they seemed to be ok. She didn't really think that many people would show up but to her surprise, more people showed up than she thought would show up. She understood if some couldn't show up though.

Mercedes went up to talk to her too but what she had to say was more heartbreaking. "Getting to see you and everyone else again makes having to leave my family feel less difficult."

Annette ran towards Byleth, all excited and giggled a bit. "Long time no see, Professor! I always knew in my heart that we'd meet again!"

She then continued to fight alongside Ashe & Byleth.

They then started to slay more and more thieves.

Mercedes finished off some thieves. "Ok! That shou-"

"Mercie! Watch out!" Annette yelled out

It seemed like a thief was doing a sneak attack on her.

Mercedes quickly dodged and her and Ashe finished it off with their combat art skills.

"Thank you Annie! And thank you Ashe for the help!"

"Not a problem! Just try to stay more careful okay?" Annette smiled.

Mercedes nodded. It felt like old times again, them fighting alongside and watching out for each other.

She really did feel like she was back at the days of the academy.

While that was happening, Byleth, Gilbert & Dimitri was focusing on getting closer to the commander while the three students were following from behind.

However it seemed like there were three more people coming and this didn't go unnoticed by everyone else.

"Uh oh..." Ashe felt a bit worried.

However that fear quickly went away when he saw a familiar face appear.

It was Sylvain.

He wasn't sure how to feel about what happened to the monastery. "The monastery has become a nest of thieves."

Then another face appeared. It was Ingrid.

She seemed shocked about what happened to the monastery but she was even more shocked to see Byleth. "Professor! You're alive after all! But first things first - let's defeat these thieves."

Another familiar face appeared.

Felix.

Unlike Sylvain & Ingrid, he didn't really express how he felt. "I'll lend a hand. We'll catch up later."

Dimitri yelled out. "Listen up. We must end this quickly."

Byleth was so happy to see them all here. They weren't too far off so they helped out the thieves that were scattered around the leader of the thieves.

While Byleth was defeating the thieves, Dimitri suggested an idea. "There are openings to the north and south. We'll split into two and tear them apart."

While Byleth wasn't fond of the idea of tearing the thieves apart, she does think it is a good idea to split the troops into two.

So she decided to go to the North along with Ashe while Dimitri, Gilbert, Annette & Mercedes take the south.

Felix, Sylvain & Ingrid were already at the North of the area so there was no need for them to go to the south.

They all kept slaying the thieves.

When Byleth finally was near Sylvain, Ingrid and Felix, she chatted a bit with them.

First was Sylvain, he was happy to see that she was still alive and well. "Where have you been the last five years? I was worried about you, and then I was just sad."

Ingrid quickly rushed to Byleth right after Sylvain said that. "I'm glad we could meet again, Professor. It'll be nice to fight alongside each other. Just like old times."

Then Felix said something. "Fancy meeting you here. A welcome surprise."

Before Byleth could say anything, she realised that the majority of thieves protecting the leader were gone.

So she had a plan.

She decided to corner the area where the leader was.

She had all of the troops corner everywhere around the leader.

She had Gilbert attack the leader.

The leader started to freak out a bit. "No! I'm not the one you want! Gah! I guess I've got no choice."

Since the leader had a sword and swords weren't too effective towards Gilbert's heavy armour, he quickly won the fight.

However the leader had no plans on giving up.

"It isn't looking good for us. Should we retreat?" He asked some of the following thieves.

It seemed like he was going to retreat. Dimitri had a look that didn't exactly look happy. "You didn't plan on letting him get away, did you?"

He tried to escape to the north but it backfired.

It was where Byleth and the others were.

Byleth quickly attacked the leader.

"Ah, you should yield me a tidy profit!"

Byleth yelled something out before she landed an attack. "Here is something to believe in!"

She then landed a powerful sword attack on the leader.

The leader had some words before he died. "I thought it would be easy money... Maybe it wasn't... meant to be..."

The battle was finally over...

.....

A few minutes passed and Byleth wanted to speak to all of the students that had arrived.

"Professor!"

But a sudden but familiar voice caught her off guard.

"What was that?" Ashe had asked.

"Must be more thieves, I'd sa-"

Dimitri was cut off, by another voice nearby that other one.

"P-professor! W-we are over here!" a shy familiar sounding voice came.

Byleth finally saw them.

There were many people running towards them all.

She smiled, realising that it was the rest of the students.

They all ran except for the pink haired girl, she just walked lazily alongside them.

"Professor! Oh I've missed you!" Raphael ran up to her.

"And the rest of you! Ingrid, Felix, Di- uhhhh..." Raphael wasn't entirely sure what to say about Dimitri.

"Wow Dimitri you have gotten bigger! I bet your muscles are even bigger than before." Raphael said.

Dimitri said nothing just avoided eye contact completely.

Before Raphael said anything, Dorothea ran towards them with Petra and Caspar with Marianne Hapi, Yuri & Hilda following close behind.

Dorothea was the first one to speak. "It's wonderful to see you again Professor and all of my fellow classmates! Also Ingrid, You got a haircut."

Ingrid blushed a bit. "I did. It's great to see you again Dorothea!"

"I love that haircut, It matches you so well and wow I'm just so happy to see all you again!"

"Same! I'm glad that I managed to come by after all!" Hilda winked.

"Aw yeah this is so awesome!" Caspar cheered.

"I guess I'm glad that I came along." Hapi said.

Yuri smirked. "Hapi says that now but she's been talking about how much she's been wanting to se-"

"Yuribird! Don't make me sigh!" Hapi shot Yuri a glare.

Sylvain was confused about something. "Uh no offence but how did some of you know about the promise we made when you weren't there?"

Hilda winked. "Marianne told us all about it since she was there you know when you guys made that promise! Right Marianne?"

Marianne nodded. "Yes I did. I told them all about the promise around I think Lone Moon almost five years ago."

Byleth couldn't help but feel as if something about Marianne was really different other than the looks. She seems more confident than she was before.

Petra stepped in. "Apologies for being late, we all met up with each other on our way here."

They all went into the monastery and were catching up.

Well all except for Dimitri. He shooed them all away.

Byleth also felt like something else was wrong.

Where was Dedue?

\-----

When some students were in the outer city wall with Byleth, Dimitri and Gilbert, it was dark outside.

Ingrid had something to say to Dimitri and Byleth.

"Your Highness! Professor! I'm so glad you're both safe..."

Dimitri barely cared what she had to say. "Why are you here?"

Byleth was wondering. _"Did he forget the promise? If so... what brought him to the monastery?"_

"Did you forget? We all made a promise on this very day five years ago." Ashe seemed concerned.

Mercedes joined in. "Dimitri, weren't you the one who asked that we all meet up here?"

Annette was hoping this was some kind of joke. "Don't be silly! Of course you remember our promise. That's why you and the professor are here, right?"

Dimitri thought to himself. _"Was that what the dream was talking about?"_

Gilbert finally said something. "Your Highness... I have been following news about your whereabouts for a while now. I am relieved to have finally found you."

Dimitri looked disgusted at being called that. "Do not call me that. I am not a prince, but a walking corpse."

Byleth was confused. "Why would you say that?"

Gilbert disagreed with that statement. "That is what we all believed, but it is not so. I can see with my own eyes that you are alive, Your Highness. But the jail cells in Fhirdiad are as solid as they come. How did you manage to..."

Dimitri said only one simple word but it meant a lot of things. "Dedue."

Byleth knew there was something wrong. She was wondering what happened to Dedue.

"What happened?" She couldn't help but ask him about Dedue.

"He's **dead**. He died in my place."

When Byleth heard that, she felt heartbroken and even showed how sad she felt on her face.

Gilbert didn't react and neither did the students but you can tell that wasn't news they wanted to hear.

Especially Mercedes and Ashe but they didn't show it.

"I see. We will be sure to honour his loyalty, Your Highness." Gilbert said.

Gilbert moved on to a different topic. "As for the state of the Kingdom, the lords from the western region have declared their fealty to the Empire, starting with House Rowe. Cornelia's band of traitors now refers to Kingdom territory as the Faerghus Dukedom. They've made Fhirdiad their stronghold as they continue to invade the eastern region."

Dimitri clearly was uninterested in the topic but Byleth was confused.

 _"Who the heck is Cornelia? What happened?"_ She couldn't help but think to herself.

So she didn't hesitate to ask about it. "Cornelia?"

Gilbert explained it. "She is a mage who has served the royal family for more than 20 years. There is much to tell you. I will explain everything in time."

Sylvain couldn't help but point out. "Well, it's not like all of the Kingdom's lords have sided with the Empire. There are plenty of houses, like mine and Felix's, that remain stubbornly opposed."

Gilbert spoke up again. "Your Highness. Please allow us to take up arms at your side once more. What we need more than anything isn't soldiers, money, or supplies. We need the legitimate heir of Faerghus to overthrow the Empire and reclaim the Kingdom! Such is your duty. It is yours alone to bear and well worth fighting for. Only you can gather our troops and lead us back into the light."

"You are still needed, Dimitri." Byleth said.

“I see. So, you all agree that we must fight back. And you see how that woman... how the Empire cannot be forgiven. That we must wipe them all out until not a single one of them remains..."

Annette was startled. "Wipe them all out? Umm, I don't think any of us here are suggesting anything that extreme..."

"..." Gilbert didn't really know how to respond.

He turned towards Byleth. "Professor... There is something I would like to ask you. Please join me inside the monastery."

\-----

It was now the first of Guardian Moon...

At this point, Gilbert had already explained the entire situation to Byleth on what happened the past five years from Cornelia taking over parts of the Kingdom, The alliance's collapse, Archbishop Rhea being missing etc.

In the morning of the next month, the Knights of Seiros immediately came back to the Monastery after finding out about Byleth's location and decided to join forces.

Seteth had something to announce to everyone later that day.

"We have two objectives... To overthrow the Empire and to rescue Rhea. I have no objections joining forces with you. After all, our interests are aligned."

Gilbert was grateful. "Nothing could be more reassuring than securing the cooperation of the Knights of Seiros."

Byleth was happy to have them by her side. "Let's fight together."

"The archbishop entrusted all of her affairs to you. From now on, I shall comply with your wishes." Seteth nodded.

Gilbert suggested something. "We'll make Garreg Mach our base, and prepare to make our stand against the Empire. There is a fair amount of damage, but we will at least have shelter from the wind and rain."

Catherine couldn't help but say this. "Surely those Imperial jerks have this place staked out, right? It's a highly strategic location."

"While it may be a strategic location, it's too far from the front lines to be worthy of notice at the moment. This area is inconvenient as far as transport time is concerned, so it's of little importance to their war effort."

Seteth shook his head. "Even so, nothing slips past the emperor. It is safe to assume she at least has this place under surveillance."

Gilbert turned towards Byleth. "Professor... What do you think about making this place our base?"

"I have no objections."

Gilbert nodded. "Fortunately, there are still villages and hamlets nearby. And though I wouldn't call them abundant, we have war funds, as well. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Dimitri clearly didn't care about the entire conversation. He only had one goal. "Do as you please."

His tone was irritating to Byleth and a few others.

Annette spoke up. "Hey! Don't act like this doesn't concern you! We finally reunited after all this time... We've got to work together!"

Sylvain agreed. "She's right. In fact, why don't we all join forces and clean this place up a bit?"

Annette loved the idea. "Ooh, Yeah! That's a great idea! And it'll give us time to reminisce about all the good old days at the academy. I can't wait!"

Dimitri still didn't care and was uninterested. "How carefree of you."

Ashe seemed slightly scared to speak up. "It may sound trivial, but... Well, I think it's a good idea..."

Gilbert spoke again. "I understand feeling impatient, Your Highness. But patience is key at a time like this. If we fix up our base, it will improve morale, which will be sorely needed as we-"

Dimitri cut him off. "Fools."

Byleth didn't like how this was going so she tried to calm everything down. "Let's all get along."

Dimitri looked at her. "Stay out of this."

Gilbert tried to reassure him. "Please calm yourself, Your Highness. We are not your enemies."

"My enemies say the same."

Then he walked away.

Byleth couldn't believe it. Could he not tell anymore who were his enemies and who were his allies?

Something just... felt too wrong about it.

Even Felix seemed surprised. "What happened to him? It's like he's a completely different person."

Mercedes felt sad. "I feel so bad for him... Would it help if I brewed him a nice pot of tea?"

Gilbert looked down. "I cannot claim to understand how he feels. However... The way he's behaving - it's as though he's being haunted by unseen force."

Byleth was worried and thought to herself. _"Unseen force?"_

"I'm worried." She said out loud.

"As am I." Gilbert said.

...

\-----


	28. Silence

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter thirteen and takes place before chapter fourteen. Takes place on the night of the fourth of the Guardian Moon, Sunday. References "Washing Dishes" part and "An Expression" part.

\-----

_Dimitri barely leaves the Cathedral._

It was strange that he was there for the majority of the day. Sure he was reported to be seen at the training grounds and obviously at his quarters around at night but he seems to be at the cathedral all the time.

He would just stare down at the ground with his one eye like he was some...statue.

Byleth wanted to do something about it so she decided to try and talk to him while he was just spending his time there.

There were a few people around in the cathedral including Felix just minding their own business and pretending that Dimitri wasn't there.

When Byleth entered the cathedral, she knew Dimitri would be there and she was right.

She walked towards Dimitri while he was just standing right in front of the broken pieces in the cathedral.

She stood right behind him. Some of the people around them started to watch them both. Felix included.

She finally spoke, "Uh Dimitri... would you like to go and practice washing or handling some dishes again? You know.. Like that time... a really long time ago? It has.. Been a really long time since we have done anything like that..."

Dimitri didn't even look at her but he did hear her. He said loudly enough for Byleth to hear in an angry tone. "Hah. Why would I want to do something like that?"

Byleth got annoyed by that tone but she tried to stay calm. "Well you wanted to handle fragile stuff better and you wanted to stop breaking them, so I th-"

Byleth got cut off. "I don't remember that. Why would I want to not break fragile things anymore? I have fun bre-"

Byleth already knew what he was going to say so she dropped it quickly. "Ok then.. So I guess thats out of the picture... Oh! Uh.. Would you like to eat some lunch with me and uh Raphael again? Maybe you can-"

Dimitri shook his head before Byleth even finished her sentence.

Marianne started to walk in the Cathedral and she unintentionally saw the conversation that was going on between the two.

Byleth was confused. "Why not?"

"Because doing that is pointless so you should leave me alone."

Byleth couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It isn't pointless! We should treasure every moment with each other while we can! We can never know what will happen!"

Dimitri spoke again. "I couldn't... I couldn't care about anything right now. I just want to take that head away from that evil beast of an emperor."

For some reason... Dimitri felt angry at himself for lying about not caring, but he just wanted Byleth to leave him alone.

Both Byleth and Marianne knew in their hearts that what he said wasn't true. "Do you really believe that Dimitri?"

Dimitri struggled to say something which confirmed Byleth's suspicions.

He didn't believe that at all.

He threw out a sigh. "Listen. You can waste as much time as you want but you should know that it's pointless to talk to someone like me anymore. I'm a broken beast. I'm going to remain as a broken beast no matter what!"

"Don't speak to me like that Dimitri and stop saying that nonsense." Byleth snapped back, not tolerating his frustrating mood. She did have self-respect after all and won't hesitate to point out when Dimitri is doing the wrong thing.

He is her friend and student after all.

"...It's not nonsense, it's the truth. I'm a broken monster." Dimitri sighed.

Dimitri started to walked away; finally leaving the cathedral to somewhere else like the training grounds.

"You're not a broken monster Dimitri! You're- ...So you're like this because of me, aren't you..? In mine and everyone else's absence you- ...I'm... so sorry Dimitri." Byleth looked like she was going to cry.

Dimitri stopped walking and froze when he heard her say that. "No that's........Professor, do not blame yourself. It's not your fault."

He was paused since he was lost for words but he finally said something. "I chose to be a monster and that's because there are people like... EDELGARD in this world... Such filthy disgusting people that deserve to rot. Even if I turn into one myself, I don't care anymore. I must hunt them down. That is my goal and my only purpose. I'm like this because I alone, failed to achieve those goals multiple times. You had nothing to do with it so don't you dare blame yourself for anything that I have done! My path doesn't concern anyone but myself. This is the only...only direction I can take whether I die or not. To kill Edelgard for the dead."

"Haven't you thought of any other alternatives?" Byleth argued.

"There is no such thing as an alternative. I'm a helpless beast with blood spilt all over my hands from all the lives taken because of me."

Dimitri looked down to the ground. "Maybe...If things had turned out differently, then there could have been an alternative but clearly it's too late for that."

"How do you know that it's too late?"

Dimitri voice softened a bit. "Because... I just do."

He continued to walk away. He leaves the cathedral but Byleth doesn't follow him.

"Dimitri! I hope you know that I promise to be here for you whenever necessary... I'll reach my hand for you always! Just like you reached out to me when my father died." She yelled out to him.

He didn't even respond because he didn't know how to.

Byleth seemed lost in thought. Marianne has no idea what she had just witnessed but she hid in a corner. Despite being in that corner though, Marianne still heard every word.

Felix went over to talk to her, surprising both himself and Byleth.

"Hello I have a request concerning that... creature."

Byleth looked up at Felix at this sudden request. She didn't even need to ask who Felix was talking about. It was painfully obvious...

"I can hardly look at the thing in the state that it's in. Do something about it."

Both Felix and Byleth knew that he didn't even need to request that. Byleth clearly didn't want to give up on helping Dimitri.

Byleth nodded. "I'll see what I can do"

"Please do. We tracked the boar for five years. I thought he was dead. In the state he's in, he might as well be."

Felix looked down. Even though he always spoke harshly of Dimitri, he was still friends with him. Not to mention, he heard the whole conversation between Dimitri and Byleth including what Dimitri called him and the others...

He continued. "He's gotten better at killing people, and in exchange, surrendered what little humanity he had."

Byleth bit her lip. "But I know he has some there, he just doesn't realise it. If only I had have been there to guide him as his professor... I'm sorry Felix, I sh-"

Felix gets mad and cut Byleth off. "You're an idiot. It isn't your fault so don't bother apologising. It's the boar's fault, he let himself be like this. He said so himself."

"But I-"

"Quit acting like its all your fault. It's not your fault, you got that?"

Byleth didn't say anything. She knew it wasn't her fault but she also knew there had to be a way to help him.

Felix sighed and spoke in a more soft tone. "Listen. While it won’t stop the rest of us from trying to support him and get him back on his feet, you should know that I think he is most likely going to listen to you so you maybe still try to talk to him and perhaps he will listen."

Byleth didn't understand. "Me? Why me? Is it because I was his professor?"

Felix scratched his head. "Uh... Yeah something like that."

Before Byleth had the chance to respond to the comment though, Felix had already left the Cathedral.

Byleth was thinking to herself for a while after that.

_....._

\-----


	29. The Professor's Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: here is a part that takes place on Byleth's birthday (pre time skip sorry guys but I'll get back to post time skip soon) and I recommend reading "The Prince's Birthday" before reading this one at least.
> 
> Also Hilda is in this one quite a bit (she had not joined Bl yet though and neither has Caspar) just letting you know.
> 
> Also this is similar to a comic (but not really the same) that someone has when it comes to Hilda helping Dimitri make Byleth an accessory. I did get a bit of inspiration from that. The artist is Fe-oleo and their work is absolutely fantastic! Please give them the support they deserve.
> 
> And sorry Hilda is a bit ooc in this.

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place after chapter 11 and takes place before chapter 12, Beginning of story takes place on the 8th of Pegasus Moon. Read "The Prince's Birthday" part before reading this one. References "Washing Dishes" part, "Wonders of the future" part, "Nowhere left to hide part 3 and part 8" parts, the B support between Mercedes & Dimitri and the C support between Annette and Felix. Takes place after the C support between Yuri and Dorothea. Also references a part that has not been released yet (but will be released sooner or later. (; bwahaha)

\-----

_Dimitri hadn't been acting like himself recently._

Most people were confused, he looked worried and confused. He always was muttering to himself. He acted like this the previous month too but this month, it seemed to have gotten worse.

Most people asked him why he's been acting like that but Dimitri would always lie and reassure them saying that he just had a lack of sleep. Most people believed him.

Some people believe that he was acting like that due to Byleth's recent... changes or that he is curious about the Holy Tomb.

What was even stranger was that he was asking about Edelgard and was confused on why she suddenly left all of a sudden. As if he is hoping something about her.

One day though on a Sunday, Dimitri was wandering around in the courtyard, muttering strange things to himself until all of a sudden, someone said something to him.

"Your Highness?"

Those two words snapped Dimitri back into reality. When he turned around, he saw Annette and Ashe staring at him.

"Oh Ashe! Annette! My apologies, did you need anything?"

Annette and Ashe gave each other a look before they said anything.

Ashe seemed all worried. "Have you been feeling alright this moon, Your Highness? You've been acting distressed or nervous about something."

"If something is bothering you, don't be afraid to tell us!" Annette said.

Dimitri shook his head with a fake smile. "No don't worry, I guess I've been a bit tired lately."

There was an awkward pause so Dimitri wanted to change the subject. "So uh.. Are there any events that are occurring this moon?"

Annette grinned. "Well there is the Professor's Birthday coming up on the 12th of Pegasus Moon! I cannot wait to celebrate with her!"

Dimitri blinked a few times at the two when she mentioned that...

Ashe frowned. "But we were told by Lady Rhea that we can't celebrate a party like that with her the same way we did it for everyone else. While it is quite unfortunate, we sadly will have to listen."

Annette gets a bit frustrated "I know that but... man it's frustrating! Why can't we do one for her?"

Ashe sighs "I don't really know sadly, they didn't say why. All I know is that we have all been advised including her, to treat it like a normal lesson day for her birthday but at least we can still greet her a happy birthday and show our gratitude by giving her a present!"

Dimitri stays silent. He seems angry at himself.

A few students such as Lorenz, Ferdinand, Hilda and Ingrid started to randomly walk past.

Annette starts to get hopeful again. "Oh yeah your right! Ashe have you gotten her a present yet?"

Ashe blushed at the question. "Well I uh.... Yes."

"Awwww! What is it!? What is it?! Tell me! Tell me!" Annette begged.

"It's um.... a book. It's a story about a brave knight. The knight reminds me so much of her and I think she'll enjoy it! ...Anyways! What about you Annette?"

"I got her some types of tea leaves! I think she'll love them! There are so many types of teas the the Professor likes but also many types she's never had that she has GOT to try!"

Annette turned to Dimitri and Ashe did the same thing right after.

"Your highness! What present did you get for the Professor?" Annette winks at him.

Dimitri wasn't sure how to respond. He feels furious at himself for letting those other thoughts completely control him due to the fact that he hadn't bought Byleth a birthday present yet!

While he didn't really forget when her birthday was since he did talk about it frequently during the past few moons and even earlier this moon, he still felt terrible over the fact that he hadn't even got her a present yet...

One of the students stopped where they were and started to listen in on the conversation.

He stayed silent for a while.

"I... I'm such an idiot..."

"Huh?" The two students stared at him.

"I hadn't gotten anything because I have been- No... I'm not going to use any excuses, me and my foolishness are to blame. I knew about her birthday being only four days away, yet I hadn't even bought her a present yet."

While Annette and Ashe seemed shocked, Ashe still said something. "Please don't beat yourself up over something like that Your Highness...There is so much going on and you always seem really busy these days! Besides there is still lots of time left! Her birthday is only four days away, I'm sure you can get her something before the day comes!"

Dimitri frowned. "But.. I have no idea what present I should give her...."

"Well, why don't I help you with that!?"

Dimitri, Annette and Ashe weren't expecting a sudden voice. They looked around to see who it came from.

It came from Hilda as she walked closer to them.

"Trying to get a present for your Professor? Dimitri, do you know how to make accessories like you know jewellery and the stuff?" She gave him a wink.

Dimitri gulped due to the fact that not only he didn't know how to make them nor was good at it but the reason being because he keeps breaking things by accident with his own hands.

"Not exactly... no."

"Well how about I help you make a cute necklace for her! I'm sure she'll love it!" Hilda suggests.

"Thank you Hilda for the generous idea but I must warn you, I am horrible at handling accessories. There is a chance I may keep breaking the materials by accident."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you can do it with some help!" She naively said.

Annette looked nervous. "Uh how about I get Mercie to help you guys make them too since she's great at making them? You know just in case."

Hilda didn't necessarily understand why Annette looked concerned but she didn't give too much thought. "Well that isn't entirely necessary but if you think it would help then me and Mercie can indeed help Dimitri make the Professor a necklace!"

Annette ran to go get Mercedes.

Dimitri still wasn't sure about this "Are you sure Hilda? I hope it isn't too much trouble..."

"Well normally I hate working but for something like this, I for once don't mind."

This statement was surprising to hear from Hilda for some of the students around them but they ignored it.

\-----

An hour passed and Dimitri found himself at the library with Hilda and Mercedes. They were all sitting at the table, staring at all of the stuff they gathered on the table.

Hilda was already exhausted, she hated working this much even though it technically wasn't that much.

Hilda sighed. "Ok so Dimitri, Here is what you have to- What?"

It seemed like Dimitri accidentally broke something already...

"Oh dear" Mercedes frowned a little.

"How did you even- Ok... This is going to be tougher than I thought... I might have to put more work into this that I intended to do so.."

After a little while...

After many failed attempts, Hilda suggested something else.

"Listen Dimitri... Uh.. how about I make a necklace on my own and you give it to the Professor and say you made it?"

Before Dimitri could say anything, Mercedes shook her head and spoke up. "It wouldn't really be a present from him anymore, how about we just stay patient and try to help him as much as we can? After all, her birthday is in four days, I'm sure if we work after the school lessons, we can help him out then if it doesn't work out today?"

Hilda groans but she nods. "Fine"

"Ugh I'm so sorry you guys..." Dimitri was embarrassed.

Mercedes shook her head again. "Don't stress about it Dimitri! We will help you make that necklace for her, right Hilda?"

Hilda sighed. "Uh.. yeah right..."

\-----

A good three days later... In fact on the night before Byleth's birthday...they finally achieved what was considered the impossible for Dimitri to do...

They helped him make a successful necklace!

"We... We did it! We made the necklace!" Dimitri screams out, forgetting that it's night. After that he quickly sat back down in his chair.

"Yeah... we did it..." Hilda was happy but she couldn't celebrate because she was slightly annoyed for working so much.

Mercedes grinned. "You made the necklace Dimitri, we only helped you that's all!"

Dimitri felt a bit guilty. "But, it wouldn't have been possible without you both. I hope you don't mind but I will tell the professor that you both helped me out as much as you could."

"That's fine but please don't forget that you mainly made it while we just simply helped where it was necessary." She was still grinning

"The only problem is if she'll think the necklace is her style..." Hilda says without thinking.

Though this was indeed a problem on its own. The necklace wasn't exactly... the prettiest thing in the world. It was pretty plain bright blueish and that was all it had going for it.

Mercedes disagreed. "I'm absolutely sure that she'll love it!"

Hilda despite the annoying amount of work she had to do, did enjoy spending her time with the two. If she didn't she would've stopped helping. It's making her consider joining their class even...

And the gemstone that Dimitri used for it....

Sure Dimitri didn't really believe in legends but still... he hoped that the stories behind the gemstone were true...

That was the reason he picked the gemstone in the first place...

\-----

Despite it being Byleth's birthday, they had the day carry on as normal but Byleth was greeted with many happy birthdays from many people including the students. They decided once the instructing for the day was over, they'd talk to Byleth and give her their presents.

However the moment it was over the students got their presents then immediately ran straight to her.

"Professor, here is a present from me!" Dorothea winks and rushes up to her.

She gives Byleth some music sheets for singing in the Cathedral at a later time.

"I think it would be great to learn!" She says all excited. Byleth seems to like the gift.

Felix teased a certain someone else in the room. "You know, someone else in this room would be perfect for writing songs in the cathedral. Like songs about-"

"FELIX!" Annette cut him off and shot him a glare. Everyone in the room was confused but they ignored whatever that was.

Meanwhile, while certain others give their gifts to Byleth, Dorothea nudges Yuri. "So, are you going to sing fo-"

"Absolutely not." Yuri quickly cuts her off.

"Aww...but I'm sure she'd love it." Dorothea smirks and teases him.

"No way in hell Dorothea. I already told you that I hate singing."

"What's this about singing?" Dimitri asked.

Yuri shook his head. "Ah don't worry Your Lordship, It-"

"I'm just talking about how Yuri is so amazing at singing." Dorothea laughs.

"Oh? I didn't realise you were the type of one to sing. Well, I hope you don't mind me asking but would you like to-" Dimitri asked.

"Pft. Yeah. Ok, the only song I'll ever sing in front of you or anyone is a song written by you and about a certain something." Yuri teased the unfortunately naive Dimitri.

"Um..I don't write songs and what about?" Dimitri frowned.

"About your obvious crush on the Prof-"

"Shh!" Dimitri cut him off.

Yuri giggled and so did Dorothea.

Thankfully for Dimitri, Byleth didn't hear that.

\-----

After a little while Byleth received gifts from almost everyone. Fish from Flayn. Music sheets from Dorothea. A sword from Felix and Petra. Flowers from Dedue, Sylvain and Marianne. Training Weight from Raphael. Books from Ingrid and Ashe. Tea leaves from Mercedes, Hapi and Annette. Sweets from Yuri.

However there was one person left.

Dimitri.

He hadn't given her the present yet but he was just about to.

He put his hand in his pocket which was where the necklace was, being very careful to not accidentally break it.

"Uh Professor, your present-"

Dimitri was cut off when Seteth walked in the room.

"Professor, Lady Rhea needs to speak with you, it will take a while so please come with me to see her."

Byleth was a bit frustrated but had to obey.

"Don't worry Professor, I'll give you your after your finished with her. You go on ahead."

Byleth felt bad. "Sorry Dimitri."

"It's fine, I understand."

She nodded and followed Seteth.

Now that she left the room, Sylvain saw this as an opportunity to tease Dimitri.. again.

"Awww Your Highness~ You seem sad about her not seeing your present, well that does make sense considering you're head over heels for-"

Sylvain got cut off by Ingrid "Don't even say it....."

"Alright it was just a joke. No need to get mad haha....."

Mercedes spoke up. "Well Dimitri, please tell me how it goes! I'd love to know!"

Dimitri nodded.

Mercedes grinned and then she and the rest of the classmates left the room including Dimitri.

He started to wander around, irritated about the fact that he couldn't give her the present.

A while later, not long from night time, he found himself around in the Cathedral, he wasn't really sure why.

His attention went to the stairs of the goddess tower.

He had been there before with Byleth and he said a lot.

That was also when he finally realised how he truly felt about her when he was talking to her there in the tower.

He wasn't sure why but he feels like he'll meet her there again...

He isn't sure when but it felt like the perfect place to meet up with her there.

He found himself walking up stairs, remembering when he went up there on the day of the ball.

It was odd to think about it but it was still something he'll remember.

There was no one there to Dimitri's relief, he look at the sky from the tower. It reminds him of when he made that promise to his classmates about the reunion.

He didn't realise that he was staring at the sky and so time had passed.

The sky got darker and darker.

He was so focused that he didn't hear anything around him.

"Dimitri?" a surprised voice shocked Dimitri.

He turned around to see where the voice came from.

Byleth.

Dimitri was flustered. "Pr-Professor? What are you... Is Lady Rhea finished talking to you already?"

Byleth gave him a look. "Rhea and I stopped talking some time ago actually. I was looking for you. According to Sylvain, you were really sad that I didn't get to see the present you got for me and suggested for me to go find you quickly."

Dimitri was mad. While what Sylvain said was slightly true, he was mad at him. It was like he was trying to irritate Dimitri by telling her that.

Dimitri looks away from Byleth and quietly mutters to himself so Byleth doesn't hear. He cracked his fingers. _"...I'm going to kill that little orange haired skirt chaser!"_

He swears to himself that he will scold Sylvain a ton the next time he sees him.

He takes a sigh and looks back at Byleth.

"Uh I'm afraid that Sylvain exaggerated that statement but I did really want you to see the present I have for you." Dimitri says.

But then he realised something. "Wait, how did you know I was in the goddess tower?"

Byleth wasn't sure how to respond. "Um... Well, I'm not sure myself to be honest... I guess I just had a feeling..."

Dimitri didn't understand. "How so?"

"Well um... I don't know." Byleth was being quite vague but it seemed like she was telling the truth.

Dimitri didn't bother anymore and went to go get the necklace from his pocket.

He gave it to her and was holding it very carefully.

"H-happy birthday Professor!"

Byleth took the necklace from his hands and stares at it for a bit.

Dimitri quickly said. "Well Hilda suggested for me to make a necklace for you but in the end I kept messing up that she and Mercedes were helping me work on it for the next few days. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to have made this. I'm sorry if you don't like it, I'll-"

Dimitri cut himself off when Byleth puts it on and gives him a genuine, happy smile.

"It's perfect... I love it! Thank you so much Dimitri!"

Perhaps the most beautiful smile he had ever seen from anyone in his life. It made his heart pound quite quickly.

He couldn't even respond because he was too flustered and shocked.

Byleth finally said something. "Sorry Dimitri If I interrupted your time alone, mind if I ask... were you watching the sky? Do... do you mind if I join you for just a little bit?"

Dimitri was suddenly snapped back to reality. "H-huh? Oh n-no I don't mind at all!"

"Thanks" Byleth stood next to him to watch the sky.

"It's amazing huh?" Dimitri couldn't help but ask.

She smiled at him. "Not as amazing as the present you got me."

She truly loves the necklace.

Byleth sighs, realising how late it is "Anyways thanks for having me around Dimitri and thank you for the present. I'll see you tomorrow!"

As she started to leave, Dimitri blurted out without thinking and turned towards her. "Wait!" startling Byleth.

"Professor, Can I please tell you something...?"

"Yes? Is there something wrong Dimitri?"

"...I am in lo-"

...Dimitri realises what he was just about to say and tries to get out of it. "in lo-VE WITH THE IDEA OF HAVING ME PARTICIPATE IN TOURNAMENTS INVOLVING USING THE AXE AS A WEAPON! HAHAHA..."

.....

Dimitri had no idea what he just said or rather... what gibberish he just blurted out.

.....

It was silent for a bit, making it even more awkward.

.....

 _"Professor, please say something... Please tell me whatever it was I just said... I can't stand this silence....."_ He couldn't help but think to himself.

.....

Byleth finally said something. "Well uh... Dimitri, if you really want I can help you be more skilled with axes.. but isn't that your weakness?"

"So I said something about axes?" He thought to himself

He responded to Byleth "Um... Yeah! I uh... should work better on my weaknesses?"

.....

Byleth nodded. "Um ok sure... I'll help you out? Anyways we should head..."

Dimitri really wanted to punch himself in the face for this incident.

"Professor, uh I'd like to meet you here again someday, um... there is something else I'd like to tell you..."

Byleth was confused. "Why not tell me now?"

"No, I'd rather say it to you later on." he looked away.

"Uh... ok?"

Then they both left.

When Dimitri was walking back to his room, he was mad at himself.

He muttered to himself. "If Sylvain ever finds this out, he'll tease me about this more than he does tease me about the dagger I gave Edelgard..."

Dimitri remembered something again...

"Edelgard... Thats right....."

He seemed scared and worried. It seemed like he was now focused on that.

\-----


	30. Refusal

\-----

Post time skip, takes place after chapter 13 and takes place before chapter 14. Takes place on the fifth of the Guardian Moon. The day after "Silence" part and references "Joke telling" part.

\-----

_Despite the fact that Byleth wasn't really a teacher anymore, she was going to instruct the army just like she did back in the officers academy days._

There was no doubt that everyone's strength had greatly increased in the last five years but most of them believe that her guidance/influence from back then had a lot to do with it.

So they set up to do training and instructing just like back then, in the beginning of each week.

The first session starts at the Fifth of Guardian Moon, in the morning.

When the time came, majority of the army were there.

In fact everyone was but one.

Dimitri.

Byleth sighed when she was sitting on her seat when she noticed. "Has anyone see Dimitri?"

Dorothea frowns and looks down. "Yes. He's at the Cathedral.. again."

"Strange. I could've sworn I told him about the sessions... Sylvain sorry to ask but could you please tell Dimitri about the instruction schedule and bring him here?"

Sylvain shook his head. "No can do Professor. I already tried to talk to him and I told him about this but he refused to come here. I tried my best to have him come but he just kept telling me off."

"Then why don't we try again? I'm sure he'll listen especially if the professor is the one to tell him!" Caspar seemed confident but naive.

"Uh no that's... a terrible idea. We should just leave him be for now. Right Professor?" Hilda turned towards Byleth.

"Well.. I... I think Caspar is right. Maybe someone should try again to bring him here." Byleth spoke up.

No one really expected that answer from Byleth. Not even Caspar but he was thrilled anyways.

Hilda seemed stunned by that response and stretched out her arms. "You serious? Wow... Uh good luck then I guess because there is no way I can be bothered to help you guys."

"Alright then, I'll do it! I run to him right now!" Caspar dashed out of the room.

"Caspar wait up!" Byleth ran after him.

Felix threw out a massive sigh while the others were just thinking to themselves.

\-----

Dimitri was just standing in front of the broken pieces of the cathedral once again. Looking down like he was lifeless.

"Hey! Dimitri!" He heard some voice that weren't ghosts. Dimitri didn't care enough to look for the owner of that voice.

Caspar and Byleth suddenly appeared behind him.

"Dimitri! What the heck are you doing here?"

Byleth wasn't fond of the type of tone that Caspar was using because she knew that Dimitri would hate it.

"..." Dimitri didn't even respond at all and just continued to look down as if neither of them are there.

Caspar put his hand on Dimitri's shoulder. "Come on, don't you think you have been in the Cathedral long enough? It's time to train so we can all get stronger for the Imperial Army."

Dimitri finally faced Caspar, furiously. He aggressively puts off the hand that Caspar had on his shoulder and even slightly hurt Caspar's hand from doing that.

"What do you want?" Dimitri's tone was pretty aggressive and scary even.

Caspar hadn't really known too much about Dimitri but what he did know was that he was normally patient and nice.

This person however... seemed to be completely different.

While Caspar noticed the change of looks and attitude days beforehand but he didn't realise how extreme it was until now.

"Sheesh. What's your problem?" Caspar seemed mad.

"Go away."

Byleth could see the angry sparks between them. She sighed and decided to be the one to talk to him. "Dimitri, the army is going to start training at the second floor and instruct one another in certain skills. It will help us get stronger, would you like to join the rest of us?"

Dimitri didn't answer which annoyed Caspar even more. Caspar was going to say something but decided not to.

Byleth sighed again and repeated herself. "Would you like to join the rest of us in the instructing and training?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Why would I want to waste my time doing something worthless with the rest of you fools?"

"Well you're willing to waste your time in the Cathedral worthlessly looking down as if your braindead so I don't see why you wouldn't want to!" Caspar snapped.

Dimitri faced Caspar with an angry look on his face. "Quit being a nuisance."

Right after he said that, Dimitri looked away from Caspar and started staring at the ground. In a lifeless way again.

Caspar sighed. "Ughhh. Listen Professor, maybe he wouldn't be someone good to train with then. Though, I don't think this guy realises that if he doesn't train, he'll have a hard time on the battlefield."

Caspar said that loud enough for Dimitri to hear so he could provoke him on purpose.

Dimitri did respond to that. "You are a fool. I train on my own. Training with any of you is pointless."

Caspar crossed his arms. "Really? What makes you say that then?"

"Because all of you are fools."

"That's... not really a reason pal."

Dimitri groaned. It didn't look like either Byleth nor Caspar will be able to convince Dimitri at this point.

Byleth finally spoke up to help Caspar. "There was no need to be rude to Caspar, he hasn't done anything wrong."

Dimitri said nothing, he just stared. Byleth was annoyed by this look but she spoke up again in a bit of a snippy tone. "...anyways you might as well go, Alois' jokes will put you in a less grumpy mood maybe."

Dimitri shook his head. "No I don't care for whoever that name belongs to."

It hurt a bit hearing that for them both. Did he really not remember who Alois was? Caspar was still angry though and snapped at him. "You don't remember Alois?"

Dimitri faced Caspar again and changed the subject. "Your father and uncle are Imperial Soldiers correct?"

Caspar was weirded out but he nodded. "Yes they are but I don't know how that has to do with anything. Also why did you change the subject?"

"You and two others who are here were in that.... that beast's class right?" Dimitri said.

Byleth tried to intervene multiple times to tell Dimitri to not accuse Caspar or anything wrong of the sort but they were both talking very quickly that it was hard to find that opportunity.

Caspar didn't really like where this was going. "What's your point?"

"Why should I trust you? I have no doubt that you and your family got along with... HER. I have no doubt that you're a spy working for them along with those others who were in in her class back then, trying to se-"

Caspar quickly interrupted him simply because he didn't want to hear the rest, he couldn't believe he was being accused of something like this. "Are you seriously making assumptions about me betraying this army? I would never betray the professor or the army!"

Byleth tried to calm them down. "Guys ple-"

Dimitri faced her for a moment and said. "You're not part of the conversation so stay out of it."

That response annoyed Byleth but she was unable to say anything because Dimitri once again (though unintentionally) quickly spoke to Caspar again before she could say anything else. "Well? Why else are you here then?"

Caspar stayed quiet for a bit. "That's... because it's the path I chose to follow."

"Dimitri leave him alone! Don't treat him like this, he's just trying to help!" Byleth snapped. 

Dimitri faced towards Byleth. "Hmph... And You."

He faced Byleth and kept changing the subject so awkwardly.

Byleth didn't know how to respond to this sudden confrontation.

Dimitri warned her but not exactly in a angry tone like with Caspar. This time his tone was filled more with concern. "You shouldn't try to talk to me and you should stay away from me. You're not gaining anything from it so don't bother. Especially with that nonsense about you being there for a broken beast like me. It's not worth your while. So stay away. Don't bother anymore." 

He walked away before Byleth could say anything.

Caspar face palmed and sighed. "Let's head back to the second floor. It's no wonder Sylvain couldn't do it."

Byleth nodded and apologised to Caspar about the conversation but he shrugged it off.

While they walked back, she couldn't help but realise that tone of Dimitri's when he warned her to stay away...

It sounded like he was said because he was scared or concerned. Not out of anger.

\-----


	31. Voice

\-----

Post time skip, takes place after chapter 13 and takes place before chapter 14. Takes place on the 11th of Guardian Moon. A week after the events of "Silence" and not long after "Refusal". Takes place in the early morning.

\-----

_Dimitri was in front of the broken pieces of the Cathedral once again._

It wasn't exactly out of place anymore at this point, that was where he normally would be from morning to the evening.

Even though it was Saint Seiros Day, he still didn't care. He never left. Only times he would is when he feels irritated, to go out for missions, to train himself, when he was hungry or if he goes to sleep. Majority of those times are surprisingly rare. 

Byleth, Catherine, Flayn and a few others entered the Cathedral and wanted to do the Hymn Recital in the Cathedral to celebrate it. 

But then... they finally realised Dimitri was there when they arrived despite it being this early in the morning.

After them all staring at Dimitri from near the entrance, Byleth finally broke the silence. "I'll go ask Dimitri if he wants to join us for the recital." 

Catherine frowned. "Yeah.. Good luck with that Professor."

Byleth sighed. "Catherine..."

"Ok ok.. Listen just try not to get your hopes up, you know more than all of us that his chances of saying yes are pretty low."

Flayn seemed concerned. "I'm sure she knows that Catherine but it doesn't hurt to try, right? Anyways Professor, Catherine and I will set everything up while you try to talk to him."

Byleth nodded and she started to walk towards Dimitri while Catherine and Flayn set up everything.

Dimitri was staring at the ground again and looked like he was dead. He was whispering to himself about something but Byleth couldn't hear what it was about.

She finally stopped behind him and softly spoke to him. "Hello Dimitri..."

He didn't hear her properly. It was like he was hearing something else entirely.

**_"..W..l....d...s...r..o....y.....E...l..g......d....."_ **

Dimitri was mumbling to himself as if he was speaking about someone. Byleth couldn't really hear him because he sounded really quiet.

She then faced him from the right and could only slightly hear him a bit better. 

**_"....G.....l.....n...I....w....i...l...l......a.....e....n....g...e....y.....o......u"_ **

"Dimitri are you ok?" She said a bit louder than last time.

Something about her voice seemed different to him compared to other voices... 

As if, it was more loud than anyone else despite the fact that lots of people have spoken louder but he could hear them much less.

Dimitri finally snapped back into reality. He looked angry.

"What?"

Dimitri could still hear the voices in his head but could still slightly hear Byleth.

She was frustrated with his attitude but she couldn't be bothered to argue with him right now so she asked calmly. "Dimitri, would you like to-"

**_" T A K E E D E L G A R D ' S H E A D "_ **

Two voices were talking at the same time for him. 

He turned over to slightly face her. He seemed to be a bit excited but in a frightening way. "Are we killing anyone now?"

Byleth sighed. ".....No"

Dimitri looked away and seemed disappointed. "Then go away."

"But-"

"Go."

She looked back at Flayn and Catherine, it seemed like they were already done and were watching them both.

She gave up since she didn't want to keep them waiting. She spoke back with a snippy tone. "Fine."

She left him alone and then the voices in his head got louder and he continued to mumble to himself.

Byleth went back to Catherine and Flayn. She shook her head which didn't surprise either of them in the slightest.

Byleth noticed something and had to confront them about it. "Dimitri being in the Cathedral isn't a _huuuge_ problem... Right?" 

"As long as he doesn't interfere with the Recital, then no." Catherine reassured her.

"Ok so what song are we singing...?"

\-----

Meanwhile with Dimitri, all he could hear was the voices in his head and his own mumbling. 

He could hear everyone who died again...

**_" K I L L T H E M O N S T E R E D E L G A R D . "_ **

"I...-" He wasn't sure what say.

**_" K I L L K I L L K I L L K I L L "_ **

He allowed them to say it while he continued to mumble.

**_" H E R F A U L T "_ **

_**" S H E S H O U L D N ' T B E A L I V E A N Y M O R E "** _

_**" K I L L E D E L G A R D "** _

The voices were haunting to listen to...

**_" I F Y O U D O N ' T A V E N G E U S T H E N W H A T A R E Y O U W O R T H ? "_ **

**_" D E S T R O Y E D E L G A R D "_ **

_"_ ♪... _Reaching out to the light..._ ♪ _"_

_....._

Dimitri thought he could hear something else. 

A familiar, beautiful voice he knew so well.

That voice... sounded like it was... in rhythm.

The voices in his head became a bit quieter.

He was confused.

_**" K I L L H .... E... R.... "** _

_"♪...The infallible silver blade...♪"_

The more this voice kept continuing to sing, the less he could hear those voices in his head.

_"♪...Will awaken those slumbering hopes...♪"_

_"♪...With a mighty slash...♪"_

Dimitri wanted to know where this beautiful voice was coming from. While the voice did sound a bit off at times to the rhythm, it was still so amazing to hear to him.

But... he had no idea why.

He glimpsed behind him and saw the recital. There were many people singing but he could hear only one. 

_"♪...A song that brings peace to the world...♪"_

This owner of this voice he for some reason can only hear out of the crowd in that recital...

The voice was powerful enough for Dimitri to not be able to hear the voices in his head... 

The owner of that voice...

_"♪...Scatters a soft light from a crystal...♪"_

Was...

_"♪...Like a sunrise that drives away the darkness...♪"_

Byleth...

_"♪...One's thoughts...♪"_

But how?

It wasn't the song because if it was then why is Byleth the only one he can hear out of crowds of people singing there?

So why?

Why was it only her that he could hear louder than everyone including the voices in his head?

Sure she sang loudly but so did everyone else in the room.

"Isn't it obvious?" He heard a gentle yet slightly aggressive voice and looked to see where it came from.

It was his step mother.

Or rather... her ghost that only he could see.

She walked towards him and stopped right in front of him.

He looked at his stepmother and then back at Byleth.

He remembered why.

It was because he was in love with Byleth. 

Those feelings he had for Byleth 5 years ago...

...Hadn't changed.

His stepmother suddenly looked furious and lashed out at him. "YOU HAVEN'T EVEN AVENGED US INCLUDING THE GIRL'S FATHER! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN FALL IN LOVE?"

Dimitri was in denial and quietly argued back. "Stepmother! I... I'm not!"

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN FOOL ME! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!"

"I-"

"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY! TO OUR SACRIFICES! TO... EVERYONE!!"

Dimitri put his hands over his head. 

"KILL EDELGARD! KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM EVERYONE! DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOAL!"

The singing finally stopped and it seemed like everyone was done singing for the day. They all left the cathedral.

Since the singing stopped, his step mother vanished.

The haunting voices were finally heard again.

**_" K I L L "_ **

He put his hands off his head now.

_**" D O N ' T L O S E S I G H T O F Y O U R G O A L E V E R ! "** _

_**" S T A Y F R O M T H A T P E R S O N "** _

_**" A V E N G E "** _

He seems furious with himself.

_"I must stay away from her. I'll forget what my purpose is."_

Dimitri looked dead again. 

_"I'm a beast who slays other beasts and avenges the dead. That's who I am. Nothing else."_

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would be impressed if you guys can guess what song the choir is singing in this part (I know, the song technically shouldn't exist in this universe but agh I couldn't think of another song to put that isn't Edge of Dawn or the song that Rhea sings).
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this part!


	32. Pirates Of The North

\-----

Post time skip, takes place after chapter 13 and takes place before chapter 14. Takes place after "Silence" part, "Refusal" part and "Voice" part. Takes place on the 18th of the Guardian Moon.

\-----

_Byleth had a minor mission given to her and her army by one of the soldiers in the marketplace._

"There are some pirates in the Sreng Region and have been terrorising the people and mercenaries. Please help us out in defeating them."

Byleth alerted everyone that this was they were going to do for the spare day.

So they all had a meeting about it. About not only it being good battle experience but also to help save the people.

Dimitri was smirking to himself. It seemed like he wanted to kill these pirates quickly.

Quite desperately in fact.

Many people noticed. Including Byleth and Gilbert.

Gilbert frowned. "Your Highness, are you sure you can-"

"Let's just go already, I'm tired of waiting."

"But-"

He gave Gilbert a glare that told him to shut up and so he did.

And so everyone left.

\-----

When they arrived at the Sreng region, It didn't take long for them to find the pirates.

"There they are professor..." Mercedes pointed towards the pirates.

It seemed like what the soldier said about them was true. 

"Hey! What are you staring at pipsqueaks?" One of the pirates yelled out when they saw Byleth and the rest of the army.

The pirates noticed the soldiers. They prepared themselves to attack and terrorise the kingdom army.

Dimitri slightly raised his head up "Heh."

"Professor. I may have already said this but I leave the commanding for the battles to you. Please guide us well." Gilbert told Byleth this again.

"Hmph." Dimitri stopped smirking and crossed his arms.

"Something wrong boar?" Felix gave him a look.

"I'm getting impatient."

"Of course you are..."

Byleth didn't hear that little conversation and helped everyone prepare.

Sadly though unless the soldiers had a pegasus or a wyvern to help them fly across, there wasn't too much movement that could be made.

This annoyed Dimitri due to the fact that he feels like there is a big obstacle keeping him from attacking the pirates.

Ingrid and Seteth were able to land attacks due to their pegasus and/or wyverns.

Regardless though, the pirates still charged towards everyone in the army.

Dimitri the most.

However Dimitri didn't have to feel impatient anymore.

He cut up their bodies open with a wide eyed expression. 

He taunted them and killed them quite gruesomely.

However there was something quite unusual about Dimitri killing anybody as of right now.

It looked like a part of him was enjoying it.

But there was another part that... seemed to hate it.

This didn't go unnoticed by Byleth at all so she decided to try and prevent him from killing as much pirates as necessary...

Of course it was needed for him to kill some but there was no way she was going to let him be anymore rash in this mission.

She even had to use divine pulse a few times.

But that still didn't stop Dimitri's persistence.

She could even hear a few things before he killed some of the pirates. 

**"I'LL DESTROY YOU" "GET OUT OF MY WAY" "See you in the eternal flames." "I'll join you in hell when I've done my job."**

It was horrible... Hearing both Dimitri saying that and some of the pirates scream in a mortifying way when he killed them. 

Sure the pirates were bad but it was still disturbing. Most of the others in the army didn't really like seeing Dimitri doing that either.

But Dimitri? It was actually hard to tell. 

Sure he sort of looked he was enjoying it but... 

Was he truly enjoying it? It sounded like he was more being forced to do it even though no one around him was forcing him to do this at all. Byleth even gave him the option to fight or not in this battle to which he obviously accepted.

But regardless they finally finished the battle with the pirates.

However Dimitri couldn't even tell that the fight was over and that all the pirates had been defeated.

He is even starting to mistake his own allies as pirates.

Everyone but Dimitri put their weapons away, thinking it was finally over for the day. 

Annette let out a sigh. "That was a bit tough."

Byleth reassured her. "True but at least we could help out in the end and no one got any serious injuries."

"Good poi-."

"Gah! Dimitri! What are you doing?!"

They were cut off by some struggling loud voice.

It was Raphael. Dimitri kept trying to aim with his lance to kill him. 

He even attempted to use his muscles as defence from the lance

"Don't bother letting a beast like yourself to live you pirate."

"Dimitri! I'm not a pirate! What the heck?!"

"Dimitri! What are you doing? That's Raphael." Hilda was confused and yelled out.

"Who?" Dimitri was confused at this point.

Byleth ran in front of Dimitri and defended Raphael with her sword to prevent him trying to kill Raphael.

Dimitri was frustrated. "Why are you defending the enemy?"

"Why are you attacking an ally? Dimitri, this is Raphael remember? He is part of the kingdom army."

There was a long silence. Suddenly though Dimitri put away his lance and turned around to walk away. "Hmph."

Hilda walked over to Byleth and Raphael.

"Did he lose his memory or something? Honestly what's wrong with him?" Hilda seemed pretty mad.

"Are you ok Raphael?" Byleth ignored Hilda and turned towards Raphael.

"Don't worry I'm fine but that was quite scary. Do you think Dimitri is hungry for food? Is that why he is upset?"

Raphael didn't seem to take to much offence to that. It was a mix of surprising and unsurprising. Most would be annoyed about it but Raphael wasn't the type of person to be annoyed by that. 

But even still...

Was Dimitri...truly ok with all of this?

_Truly ok with living like this?_

**Was there really no other way...?**

\-----


	33. Randolph's Invasion

\-----

Post time skip. After chapter 13 and takes place after "Pirates of the north." Beginning of this part takes place literally just before Chapter 14. Also a few days before Byleth's A support with Sylvain. Also a retell of Ch14 with the focus being put on the battle.

\-----

_Byleth went into the cathedral to go check on Dimitri._

It was the afternoon and for some reason everyone said they were more worried about him than usual.

This worried Byleth and she wanted to see why.

When she arrived, the only person there was Dimitri.

He stared at the ground like he was dead and shouting to himself

Byleth walked a bit closer to where he was.

"You're wrong."

...

Dimitri wasn't talking to himself after all.

It seemed like he was talking to someone but Byleth couldn't see them

Byleth didn't intend to listen to whatever it is Dimitri is saying at first but she found herself standing behind him without him noticing.

And yet she still couldn't hear these voices that Dimitri was hearing

Dimitri's ears were full of angry voices with ghosts that only he can see in front of them.

"You still love Edelgard because she is your stepsister right?" Glenn's ghost seemed disappointed with Dimitri. Dimitri's father Lambert and his step mother Patricia ghosts' were also there with him. So were a few other soldiers that died on the tragedy of duscur.

"It's not like that, Glenn. I swear it. Any love I once had for my stepsister... has been tossed aside."

Byleth thought to herself. _"Was this what Gilbert meant about the 'unseen forces'?"_

Dimitri continued. "Only hatred remains. If I could tear that woman to shreds right this very moment, I would."

Glenn's ghost snorted. "But she is the emperor right?"

Dimitri shook his head. "I don't care if she's the emperor. It's no different than killing anyone else. So I beg you...all of you... Do not worry about my resolve."

Lambert and Patricia ghosts' gave Dimitri a look. They didn't believe him.

Dimitri noticed it though. "Please, Father... And you too, Stepmother... Do not gaze at me with that look in your eyes..."

All of the ghosts started to chant at him again.

**_" K I L L E D E L G A R D "_ **

**_" G I V E U S H E R H E A D "_ **

Dimitri had a slight fake smile on his face. "I will bring you her head soon. And when I do, you may finally rest in peace. I know it... Yes, I know it."

Byleth couldn't take it anymore. She hated this.

**_" K I L L -"_ **

_"Snap out of it, Dimitri."_

Dimitri's voices were interrupted and he could hear that irritating voice from behind him.

He knew whom was behind him.

Byleth

again...

He didn't turn around.

"What do you want?"

"I came to check on you." She responded.

Dimitri didn't seem to care. "I see."

He realised something. How long it's been since he killed anyone.

"We should make haste and prepare to move out at once. I must kill her as soon as possible..."

Byleth shook her head. "That would be rash."

Dimitri did not like that answer. "I don't have time to leisurely set up camp like the rest of you fools!"

Gilbert walked in. He seemed to be a bit on alert.

"Pardon my interruption. We must prepare a counterattack at once. The Imperial army has caught wind of our position. It would seem they were patrolling this place, after all."

Dimitri seemed a bit excited at the sound of Imperial soldiers coming by.

"The Imperial army, is it? Well, well. Hehehe..."

"Your Highness... I ask that you please refrain from reckless behaviour in battle." Gilbert warned him.

Though warning Dimitri was pretty much pointless and Gilbert wasn't unaware of that.

\-----

The commander of the Imperial Army seemed familiar but it was hard to tell from that.

They were all outnumbered by the army.

No one was even sure that they could have a chance but it doesn't matter.

Nobody has any plans on giving up as of right now no matter what!

"The Knights of Seiros are a powerful enemy, but we have more soldiers. We'll take them down all at once." The familiar, overconfident commander said to his soldiers

Gilbert wasn't unaware of how outnumbered their army was at the moment.

So he had a plan.

He suggests to do a fire attack but they cannot until they get rid of the soldiers that are way too close to the monastery.

With that, the focus for a short while was put on the soldiers.

Caspar seemed to have an idea on who the commander may be which makes him hesitate but only a little.

There were Imperial soldiers having a clear focus on Dimitri. They seem to be aware of the rumours.

But their main focus was still to kill the defenders and invade the monastery.

However underestimating the defenders was a silly thing.

Annette used her magic against the soldiers near her and weakened them. Felix came to her aid and finished off the rest of them.

Caspar was with Mercedes as they attacked the surrounding soldiers, helping one another.

Sylvain and Marianne took another corner and were quick with their enemies.

Ingrid was with Byleth and took down the enemies.

Dimitri rashly took out some more as well.

With that, more reinforcements from the enemy's side came in.

But they were too far to do anything.

With this, Gilbert had the extra kingdom soldier to the aid and go to the ballista to charge up a fire attack.

But... the were still some soldiers around the kingdom soldier so Byleth needed to help him out so she told Ingrid to aid everyone else while she focuses on the soldiers around the ballista.

Ingrid wasn't too fond of the idea.

"Professor, that's risky."

"It is but it's the only way for it to work properly."

"Is it really?"

"Sorry but yes."

Ingrid sighed but she nodded "Ok. Be careful."

She went back on her pegasus and went to help out Sylvain and Marianne.

She came and killed the soldiers that were charging up towards Sylvain and Marianne with her lance, surprising them both.

Sylvain smirked. "N'aww didja you miss being around me Ingrid? I can't blame you though, I do have a handsome face after all."

She snorted. "Don't be ridiculous Sylvain."

"So you admit it?"

"I don't, you fool."

"Thank you Ingrid." Marianne smiled and was clearly grateful to Ingrid for helping them out.

"No problem!"

And so they all fought together. They made a good trio.

However... Caspar and Mercedes weren't as fortunate.

Mercedes wasn't oblivious to Caspar being... a bit sad to fighting these guys which wasn't normal for him.

"Are you ok Caspar?"

"Uh... Yeah I'm fine." He lied.

Dimitri glanced at Caspar and snorted.

Suddenly however... there were a band of enemy reinforcements coming towards Dimitri's direction.

Byleth ordered Dimitri to hold back but he refused and charged into where they were.

However listening to Byleth may have been a better option for him because it caused him to get terribly injured despite killing some of the soldiers that were surrounding him.

Byleth was petrified. She was so scared that he was going to die.

So she used Divine Pulse.

To when the reinforcements arrived.

Byleth couldn't really move from where she was but even if she could, she wouldn't be able to reach to Dimitri in time. She had to help the soldier get to the ballista and they were so close to it.

So she looked at the other alternatives to which had her end up using divine pulse way too many times for a better outcome.

But then one worked better. When she did only just a little while before the reinforcements in Dimitri's direction arrived.

"Mercedes, Marianne, please stay close to Dimitri and try to make him not.... you know...." Byleth ordered the healers to stay close by.

She felt bad to do that but she had no choice.

Not only could they heal him but they could also help him out from going too far.

They were all not far from the commander either.

Both Marianne and Mercedes listened and proceeded to do so without second thoughts. It left Caspar all alone and while he was doing fine, he was still very close to the commander.

And so when Dimitri attempted to charge towards the enemies, he was held back by both Marianne which made him furious.

However he didn't get hurt too much because of that thus potentially saving his life.

He worked with both Marianne and Mercedes to finish the rest of those soldiers off.

"Now go away." He hated fighting alongside them like this.

Mercedes shook her head. "Sorry but I won't! I have been commanded to-

"I don't care. Just go- huh?"

Dimitri had just realised how close the commander was from where he was. He started to smirk.

But then something finally happened.

The kingdom soldier finally reached to the ballista and was prepared to land a fire attack at long last.

With this Byleth didn't need to guide him anymore and so went more towards her right which wasn't far from where Sylvain and Ingrid were.

"Fire attack is ready. Now to draw the enemy's attention."

Felix and Annette were advised to stay behind to defend the entrance which wasn't difficult anymore because there weren't much soldiers.

Then Gilbert mocked the commander, drawing his attention. "So many units, and you still can't defeat us... The Empire's generals are not as formidable as I'd heard."

The mocking worked because it annoyed the commander. "Quiet! Don't think you'll get away with mocking me! Attack! Make sure they never speak again!"

Byleth signalled the rest of the army to stay alert on the upcoming fire.

"Now!"

The fire had been landed. The soldiers can no longer fight like this.

"Argh, a fire attack... The damage is too great. We can't fight anymore!" The commander was annoyed.

He alerted the rest of the Imperial Soldiers. "All units, retreat! I'll take on our pursuers! Carry away the injured soldiers!"

The soldiers started to avoid fighting the rest and tried to run away as possible.

Gilbert alerted Byleth again. "Chase them down! Leave none standing. Eliminate them before they can regroup."

Byleth made sure they didn't escape which unknowingly put her in the attack range of the commander but in her luck he wasn't focusing on her.

The commander instead started to attack the closest one nearby.

Caspar.

Caspar can finally confirm his suspicions after facing him properly.

The commander was Randolph.

"You must be Randolph... My uncle." Caspar stared at him, this surprised everyone around him except for Dimitri who somehow knew already.

Byleth and Ingrid recognised him well too from that fight from ages ago.

Randolph realised that is was Caspar he started attacking.

"Caspar?! Yes, indeed... So, I see you've chosen to oppose the Empire."

Randolph didn't look like he was going any mercy at all though. "If so, be warned that I won't hesitate. I'll strike you down, even if we're of the same house!"

Caspar didn't seem like he'll show any mercy either. "You took the words right outta my mouth! Graaagh!"

They landed some damage on each other.

However Randolph was in more trouble, he was surrounded by Dimitri, Caspar, Mercedes, Marianne, Ingrid and Sylvain.

It could really be over for him if he messes up here.

However someone drew his attention.

Byleth.

She seemed to be alone and if it weren't for her, they could've actually won this battle.

The Emperor has talked about her skills on numerous occasions too. He knows it must be Byleth that Edelgard was talking about because she fits the description.

 _"That one... I should take her down! That way this isn't entirely a bad loss."_ He thought to himself.

Byleth was entirely distracted and entirely focused on the soldiers that were trying to escape.

One of the soldiers saw Randolph looking at her and understood what he needed to do.

He tried to fight Byleth with their sword so Randolph can use this as a chance to sneak attack and kill her.

Byleth was certainly focused on fighting with the soldier, which made her turn her back towards Randolph and unintentionally step backwards towards him

He mumbled to himself. "A total loss... But we can't just return home like this..."

He tricked the remaining kingdom soldiers by running towards them which was also where Byleth was close to and then charged towards Byleth without her noticing, shocking everyone.

Dimitri the most.

Sylvain ran after the commander but no one noticed that he did including Randolph himself

Dimitri was scared.

He was scared for her.

She might actually die like this.

_"This can't be happening... Look behind you Professor..."_

_"Please I beg you! Look behind you."_

Dimitri was actually mortified, he kept mumbling to himself but literally no one could hear him if he mumbles like that.

_"Professor... Please! Look behind now! Please!"_

_"I beg you! Please! I'll never forgive you if you let yourself get killed by some... some beast!"_

His mumbles were loud to him but quiet to the world around him.

Byleth finished off the soldier that picked a fight with her but she still didn't realise Randolph was behind her since she still not looking towards where he is.

Randolph was so close to landing an attack on her.

He yelled out out of fear for her safety. "Professor! Get Down!"

This alert surprised her and it made her quickly turn around but it was almost too late.

She couldn't defend herself in time when Randolph swinged his sword to finish her off.

However... Sylvain ran up and took an attack to the hip, shielding her and stealing the hit that was meant for her.

"Erghhh..." Sylvain groaned a bit.

It wasn't fatal but it still injured him and felt painful.

"Sylvain!" Byleth was worried.

"Don't worry I'm ok." He smiled despite the pain.

Ingrid started to fly towards them all.

Randolph was going to land another attack but then Dimitri appeared behind him

Dimitri was really angry that Byleth and Sylvain almost died right there.

He faced Randolph without anyone else around them noticing due to the focus being put on Sylvain's injury.

Randolph seemed to have recognised Dimitri due to the rumours that his sister and others have told him about.

"A one-eyed demon... So it's you. You're the one who's been going around killing the Imperial troops!"

Dimitri clearly didn't care how Randolph felt. "What is it to you?"

This response angered Randolph even more. "You Bastard! Life is worthless to you, isn't it?!"

"Ha! You took the words right out from my mouth, general!"

Dimitri took him down really quickly but didn't kill him.

It looked like he had other plans.

"Capture him."

With such an order, a few of the escaping soldiers were also captured along with Randolph.

The fight was over.

Everyone was talking to one another about what happened while Dimitri was with a soldier.

No one noticed that he was with the soldier though.

Byleth felt terrible about what happened back there to Sylvain.

"Sylvain! I'm-"

"Don't worry about it Professor, It's not a big deal."

Ingrid crossed her arms. "Not a big deal? Sylvain you literally could've lost a hip you know!"

"Yeah but I didn't right?"

Ingrid sighed. "Sylvain... what the heck am I going to do with you? Sheesh. Well you better hurry up to the infirmary. We need to heal you right up."

"Yeah, yeah ok..."

In the end most of the students walked with Sylvain and rushed him to the infirmary.

Gilbert assumed that Dimitri was with them. "A terrible battle, yet Garreg Mach still stands. Your Highness?"

Byleth, Marianne and Caspars' attention were put on Dimitri and... a scared Randolph.

He looked absolutely terrified, completely different to the overconfident knight he was at the beginning of the battle.

He is begging for his life to be spared to Dimitri.

"I have family waiting for me... Please. I can't die here..."

Dimitri was disgusted. "A beast of your depravity, prattling on about family? How amusing."

Byleth was confused and couldn't help but think to herself. _"What is going on?"_

Marianne and Caspar stared at this... conversation with shock and fear.

Randolph responded to Dimitri's comment. "As though you could understand...such a thing as love... You heartless monster!"

Dimitri crossed his arms without even looking at Randolph. "You are a monster too, General. You have just yet to realize it. A monster who thinks he's a man... despicable."

It was shocking to see and terrible to watch.

But no one felt like they could do anything nor look away.

Dimitri continued. "As a general, you must have killed countless souls without a shred of mercy. Do you still remember the sound of them begging, just as you're begging now? Or, now that your life is at its end, will you hold to the lie that your hands are not stained red with blood?"

"This...this is war. I did what I had to for the Empire...for the people...for my family!"

"So, you are piling up corpses for the people and for your family. And I am doing the same for the salvation of the dead..."

Dimitri sadistically smirked towards Randolph and continued. "After all is said and done, we are both murderers. Both stained. Both monsters."

Randolph denied it. "You're wrong!"

"Am I? I can smell the rotting flesh upon your hands even now, General."

Randolph couldn't handle hearing such stuff. "Enough! That's enough!"

Dimitri seemed to have a plan reserved for Randolph. "I won't kill you right away, my fellow monster. Unless you object to watching your friends die. One...by...one."

Byleth grabbed her sword. She couldn't take this anymore.

Randolph didn't deserve a death like that.

Dimitri continued on. "If so, I will do you the service of removing your eyes first so that-"

He got cut off by Byleth suddenly striking Randolph down quickly.

Randolph screamed in pain but he was grateful that it was fast. "Gaaah! Fleche... Please, forgive me..."

Dimitri was mad. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I couldn't bear to watch." Byleth said bluntly.

Dimitri smirked and laughed. "Hah...hahahaha! A grievous error, Professor!"

This made Byleth frown and Dimitri noticed it. "If you do not approve of what I have become, then kill me."

They all knew she would never do so...

"If you insist that you cannot...then I will continue to use you and your friends until the flesh falls upon from your bones."

He walked back to the monastery, leaving her with with Marianne, Gilbert & Caspar.

Byleth sighed to herself, frustrated with him and everything at the moment.

Caspar thanked her for killing Randolph quickly like that and for preventing Dimitri from killing Randolph in... some other way.

She apologised for it but he shrugged it off, saying it wasn't really her fault.

But... there were a few meetings later.

Talking about what they should do.

Byleth and a few others suggested to take back Fhirdiad but Dimitri refused.

He wanted to get to Enbarr as quickly as possible.

So he can finally get rid of Edelgard.

And that became the plan. To march to Enbarr immediately.

But either way they were still short on soldiers.

They could've gotten soldiers if they returned to Fhirdiad but Dimitri was refusing still despite that. He was really impatient to kill Edelgard.

So instead they wrote a letter to Felix's Father, Rodrigue for backup soldiers. Thankfully Rodrigue accepted the idea of helping them a few days later but they needed to meet up in Ailell, The Valley of Torment.

And so they plan to meet up with Rodrigue there at the end of the moon.

But...

Byleth cannot help but shake the feeling that this path will lead to doom.

\-----


	34. Hidden

**Please read the author's note at the end of this page.**

\-----

Post time skip, takes place after chapter 14 and takes place before chapter 15. Read "The Professor's Birthday" part before reading this part. Takes place on the fifth of Pegasus Moon. Sort of references Hapi's B support with Dimitri. Takes place After Byleth's A support with Sylvain and Byleth's A support with Hapi.

\-----

_It was a free day and Mercedes invited Byleth and Hapi for lunch at the dining hall. They both accepted the offer._

But... Byleth seemed to be lost in thought for some reason.

When they were sitting at the table together and it was.. Pretty awkward.

There wasn't much words said.

Mercedes tried to start up a conversation. "Hey uh... So Sylvain's injury went away quite quickly huh? That's quite a relief..."

"...Yeah." Hapi was vague herself.

"Thank goodness it wasn't anything too major." Byleth spoke up.

It went all quiet again.

Hapi and Mercedes exchanged looks and shook their heads.

"Are you down about Didi?" Hapi looked straight at Byleth.

It took a small while before Byleth heard those words. She eventually looked up. "Huh?"

"Didi or.... Well Dimitri I guess is what you call him, did something happen?"

Byleth shook her head. "Not really nor am I feeling sad right now, I'm just... thinking I suppose."

"Are you thinking about him?" Mercedes asked.

Byleth tried to word her answer. "Kind of but he's not the only thought in my mind right now since there is the battle ahead of us and all that. Still though, a bit of my thoughts, though not all, do involve him."

"Well I mean you can tell us or just Sisi, if it helps. I mean not like I'm a great person to tell and all... but you know, feel free to if it helps."

Byleth smiled at Hapi. "Thanks... It's just.. I can't help but feel like it's my fault."

Both Mercedes and Hapi frowned. Mercedes spoke up first however. "Your fault? What do you mean? In what? How is it your fault and what is your fault? Did...did he blame you for this?"

Byleth shook her head. "No he didn't, in fact when I asked him if it was my fault, he told me that It wasn't my fault at all and he seemed to be telling the truth."

Mercedes sighed in relief. "Well why do you believe that it is your fault even after he said it wasn't?"

"It's just... I just wish that someone was there for Dimitri in those five years that occurred. I mean he was alone and... had no one to comfort him. I just wish he knew how much we all care about him. I can't explain it.. It's just when I look at him, I see someone who is lost and scared... Someone who won't let themselves truly live or find true happiness..."

Hapi frowned. "Yeah Chatterbox... I know what you mean because whenever I look at him, that's sadly what I see too but I don't really see how anything is your fault. I mean you don't really have anything to do with him being... well I guess broken like this."

"Maybe you're right but I cannot shake the feeling away that it is my fault even if he said it wasn't."

"Is that why you are trying to talk to him all the time? Because of guilt?"

"No not really. It's because I truly want us all to be there for him, let him know that he can let himself be happy and... let him know that he has the right to truly live for himself. I am not his saviour but I do know the steps he must take to feel better, I feel as his professor, that we all as his friends, should be obliged to not give up on him."

There was a bit of a pause.

Byleth spoke again. "I also cannot help it, we have had some amazing times. He helped me when all was lost for me. I want him to find his way back."

Byleth felt a bit relieved saying that to someone. "...Thanks for listening to me. It's admittedly nice to get that off my chest."

"No biggie Chatterbox. I mean not to sound cheesy and whatnot but feel free to tell me anything. ...Er that sounded a bit more embarrassing than I thought but I'm sure you get the idea." Hapi nodded.

Byleth slightly smiled.

Mercedes finally spoke up. "Professor? There is something I'd like to show you."

Mercedes put a familiar looking necklace on the table.

Both Byleth and Hapi stared wide eyed at the necklace.

Byleth seemed both a mix of surprised, disbelief and excited. "This... This is...!"

Hapi recognised the necklace too. "Wait isn't that the necklace that Didi, you and H made for Chatterbox's birthday all those years ago?"

Mercedes nodded and smiled. "Yep. I was- H?"

"Hilda." Byleth quickly said.

Mercedes was confused on how Byleth quickly knew who Hapi was talking about but she carried on. "Well anyways, it is the same necklace. I was cleaning earlier today and I found it carefully hidden in the greenhouse. Not at all what I was expecting. I'm sorry that I am giving it to you so late Professor though I am curious... did you... hide it five years ago?"

Byleth seemed to be in a mix of surprise, shock, happiness and confusion. "I... no I don't remember hiding it. Mercedes, how did it get there? The last time I remember having it was... At the battle five years ago...? I must have dropped it but then...?"

"I don't know why or how it was there either Professor. It was just hidden carefully around a flower and a particular area that we grow that flower type. I think the type was... Valerian? That particular area in the greenhouse seems to only be for that flower type... It's always been a mystery to me how that works."

Byleth suddenly had a clue on who put it there and why specifically there. _Valerian was her favourite flower and only some knew that. The only problem was how did he put the necklace there back then and how did he get the necklace in the first place?_

Hapi seemed surprised. "Wow. I'm surprised no thief stole it. Though I guess that depends how carefully hidden it was"

Mercedes agreed. "I'm a bit surprised myself but it was still carefully hidden. Who knows how long it's been there for."

"Anyways Professor, did Dimitri tell you about the gemstone that was used for this?" Mercedes changed the topic.

Hapi seemed a bit amused. "Well I can only assume how many Didi had to buy because H complained and complained about him breaking the gemstones at the time and him breaking the other materials."

Mercedes chuckled a bit nervously. "Heh yeah... It was more than anyone would like to admit but anyways... Do either of you know the little story the gem has behind it?"

"I don't know about Chatterbox but I don't know. I'm kind of curious but at the same time it sounds a bit weird but uh feel free to tell us anyway though."

"Oh you didn't know? This type of gemstone apparently makes one feel really happy and confident when they hold it close to their heart. It washes away one's sadness and helps regain their own confidence. I think Dimitri chose that jewel specifically for you even though he didn't have much money left due to the amount we had to buy because he continuously kept breaking them. It's kind of sweet of him." Mercedes chuckled a bit teasingly.

Hapi gave Mercedes a look. "Erm not to be a party pooper and all but isn't that some kind of legend. Not too different to that Goddess Tower stuff? I mean it's sweet and all but... you know..."

"Yes it's just a legend but it is still fun to believe in. Why don't you try it sometime Professor?"

Byleth nodded as she put it back on.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope this chapter clears up anything confusing, if not then please don't hesitate to tell me if there is something you're confused/concerned about.


	35. War for the Weak (Paralogue)

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place after chapter 5 and takes place before chapter 6. During the month of Flayn's disappearance. Part is about the paralogue known as "War for the Weak" which is Dedue's paralogue.

\-----

_Flayn has been missing for quite some time now._

Yet her disappearance wasn't the only issue as of right now.

Byleth walked in the entrance hall, only to see a concerned looking Dedue by himself, lost in thought.

Byleth couldn't help but walk up to him.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, emotionless as ever.

Dedue didn't realise she was in the room until she said that so he seemed a bit surprised when he turned his head over towards Byleth's direction. "Oh- it's you, Professor."

Dedue continued. "Since you are here, I have a favour to ask."

Before Byleth could ask what it was, Dimitri walked in the entrance hall and towards both Byleth and Dedue.

They both faced him and Dedue greeted him. "Your Highness. You've returned."

Dimitri apologised to Dedue. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Dedue."

Byleth was a bit confused but she didn't show it. Dimitri then faced her. "I'm glad you're here as well, Professor. I want you both to hear this."

Byleth was certainly curious on where this conversation seems to be going. Dimitri continued "Dedue is already aware, but you should know there's been an uprising in the Duscur region, in the western part of the Kingdom."

"An uprising in Duscur? Why?" Byleth asked very naively.

Both Dimitri and Dedue exchanged looks when she asked this. She realised that she may have unintentionally hit too close to home right then

Dimitri seemed a bit hesitant but he finally said something. "Dedue... Would you like me to explain?"

Dedue rejected the idea. "No. It should be me."

Dedue then faced Byleth. "I am from Duscur. It lies just beyond the mountains on the northwestern border of Faerghus. The land was burned to ashes by the army of Faerghus. All of the people were slaughtered."

Byleth remained silent but she was internally shocked to hear that.

Dedue closed his eyes and then looked down. "This was our punishment for the crime of regicide"

Dimitri then started to look down, he seemed heartbroken and guilty. "..."

Dedue showed no expression but it was obvious that he wasn't happy. "The barren expanse that was once Duscur is now controlled by a Kingdom noble. But Duscur survivors, such as myself, still exist outside the region. This uprising is most likely the work of such survivors, seeking to reclaim their homeland."

Dimitri looked up and spoke. "A request for aid was sent from Viscount Kleiman to the Kingdom capital and the church. He is the one who rules over that region at present. For now, the lords surrounding the Duscur region have sent their armies to help suppress the uprising. However..."

"Are they short on troops?" Byleth asked.

Dimitri shook his head. "They have sufficient troops, and strong ones at that. My worry is that there will be more unwarranted death. There have always been many in the Kingdom's army who believe the people of Duscur our foes, and hate them because of it."

Byleth slightly frowned but Dimitri continued regardless. "You would think they'd refrain from squashing the rebels out of political expediency... but I doubt that will the case. If the Kingdom's army and the rebel forces of Duscur collide, there is no doubt that the rebel forces will be annihilated. I'm afraid...that's the best case scenario. It could also turn into complete and bloody chaos for both sides."

Dedue sighed and looked down. "Indeed."

Dimitri continued to speak. "Which brings me to my news. I have just now received the permission I requested from the church."

Byleth was confused by that statement. "Permission for what?"

"I asked the church to deploy our class to help handle the situation." Dimitri clarified.

Dedue looked up quickly and was surprised. "So we may go?"

Dimitri slightly shook his head. "Not so fast. We still have a responsibility as students of the academy, after all. The only one who can truly make the decision as to whether or not we go is our professor. So... What do you say?"

Byleth quickly nodded without a second thought. "Very Well."

Dedue while didn't look it, was grateful. "You have my most sincere gratitude."

Dimitri joined in. "And mine as well. But we must move fast. I will go and alert the others."

Dimitri ran out of the entrance hall, to where the blue lion classroom was while Byleth and Dedue get prepared for battle.

\-----

It took a bit of a while to get there but they made it.

However though... Byleth was worried. From the look of things, it does not look like the end outcome would be good.

Dimitri and Dedue seemed to have noticed too. Dedue then spoke up. "The Kingdom's vanguard has already arrived. Just as we'd feared, they far outclass the Duscur forces. We cannot stand by and allow another massacre. But we cannot obstruct the Faerghus army, either. Our best hope is to force the troops of Duscur to withdraw before the Kingdom soldiers get to them."

Dimitri said something after what Dedue just said. "The main body of the Kingdom's army is bound to arrive soon. Until then, let's aim to quell this uprising ourselves. Once the main forces arrives, we will be out of options. We must move fast."

Byleth nodded but then she started to look around. She seemed nervous and seemed to be having a bit of trouble thinking of a strategy. Not to mention she wasn't at all familiar with the area at all and it was complicated one for anyone to figure out.

Dimitri couldn't blame her, this was kind of sudden and he feels a bit guilty even for bringing her into this but he knew that neither her nor him would want a massacre to take place at all so this was the only way. 

Dimitri looked around and thought of an idea so he suggested it to Byleth so they could make things more easier. "It seems the church and the Kingdom troops are not working together. My head hurts just thinking about it, but we may be able to use that. First, let's push Duscur to retreat. The Kingdom might then also withdraw without a fight."

Dedue nodded. "Let us be quick about it."

Byleth then seemed to be less worried about what to do here but she knows she cannot screw up. 

Byleth mentioned to all of her students that they cannot let anyone in the Duscur army die and let them retreat. They all agreed to do so.

First she had Annette, Ingrid, Sylvain & Felix focus on the north while Dimitri, Dedue, Mercedes, Ashe and herself focus more towards the south-west part of the location. 

Dedue was the first to encounter a soldier from Duscur. 

When Dedue seemed victorious in the fight, the soldier was prepared to die. 

He closed his eyes, while he waited for Dedue's axe to cut him up.

It was surprisingly taking a while so the soldier opened his eyes to see what was going on in front of him.

The sight was unexpected.

Dedue wasn't trying to cut him up at all. He simply had his hand out and was waiting for the soldier to reach for his hand.

The soldier stared at him as if Dedue was pulling some trick. Dedue noticed this "Go now if you value your life."

The soldier didn't know why but... he trusted him. Dedue was expressionless but still seemed... genuine. The soldier grabbed Dedue's hand and Dedue helped him get up. 

Yet the soldier was still confused despite being grateful.

"But aren't you with Faerghus? In any case... Thank you."

The soldier retreated immediately, internally grateful for what Dedue just did.

Byleth then heard Sothis' voice. "Try to focus. Time is limited, you may even need to use my power to turn back time even."

Byleth nodded to herself and she realised something.

"Oh? Did you notice something?" Sothis' gave her a smirk

Byleth said outloud to Sothis. "That soldier over there, is he perhaps the commander general?"

Sothis snorted and rolled her eyes. _"How should I know? How would you expect me to know of all people if he is the commander you fool!? You should observe him more if that's what you think he may be."_

Byleth sighed. "Ok I'll try. Thanks I guess..."

Dimitri did notice she talked to no one there but didn't pay too much attention to it. Besides he just assumed that she was talking to herself or something. He was too focused in battle.

With that, Ashe, Byleth, Dimitri, Dedue & Mercedes continued along the south west while Ingrid, Felix, Annette & Sylvain continued along North, towards where the Faerghus soldiers were.

Some of the Faerghus soldiers left because they assumed they were reinforcements.

Ashe and Mercedes were the most kind to the Duscur soldiers and even over helped them. 

Byleth, after many observations however can confirm that the soldier over there is the commander.

"Dedue, Dimitri, that soldier is the commander. If we defeat him and get him to retreat then most of the army may do so aswell. We should focus on him, if we do this fight is good as done."

Dedue and Dimitri nodded and did what she said.

Dedue however got to him first.

The general was really disgusted when he saw Dedue. As if he was some kind of bug. 

"You...are a man of Duscur. How can you make friends with our hated foes? Is it possible that you've lost your Duscur spirit?"

Dedue sighed and just let him say what he wanted. "Are you finished?"

Dedue quickly knocked him down but didn't kill him which finally ended this fight. 

The general didn't realise his life was being spared though and was prepared to die. "Is this...how our dream ends..."

"I will check the status of the Kingdom's troops. Dedue, I leave the Duscur army to you."

Dedue nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. Please be careful."

Dimitri left to check on the Kingdom soldiers. Byleth went to go check on the rest of the students.

This left Dedue, alone with the commander. All of the remaining Duscur soldiers retreated much to Dedue's relief.

"If your going to finish me off...then do it already!"

The commander was lying on the ground, staring at Dedue.

Dedue shook his head "I have no plans on killing you nor did His Highness ever plan on killing you either."

This surprised the commander. "What?"

"Can you stand? If so, leave now. The rest of your army has because we do not want to kill any of you."

The commander stood up but he didn't leave

"Why save us?" The commander confronted Dedue.

Dedue stayed calm. "I will not abide the needless death of my own people."

The commander had a hard time accepting being spared like this. "You must know that as long as there is breath in me, I will fight."

"Then fight, and be defeated. But so long as you pose no threat to His Highness, I will not end your life."

"Idealistic fool." The commander crossed his arms.

He continued. "We will not relent. Not until we've taken back the homeland you monsters stole from us!"

"I share the same sentiment."

"You? Who sold his soul for Faerghus?"

"His Highness has promised the people of Duscur a home. His will be a kingdom that is proud to harbour the blood of Faerghus and Duscur."

The commander didn't believe. It sounded too good to be true. "That's impossible. Don't be naive." 

"Believe what you will. But Faerghus will change under his reign. That is my firm belief."

The made the commander silent. It seems like he wants to believe Dedue but...

Dimitri then walked to where they were. "The Kingdom army has retreated to the fortress. There should be no further danger."

The commander was furious with Dimitri. "Prince of Faerghus! You monster!"

Dimitri accepted the insult since he didn't necessarily _disagree_ but that didn't stop him from being worried about the commander and his army's safety. "Can you still run? Then I suggest you do so now. Your people are waiting for you on the other side. Remain hidden from the Kingdom Army." 

The commander didn't say anything, he just looked down.

"May our paths cross again." Dedue said.

The commander turned away. "I certainly hope not. But remember this one thing. The people of Duscur never forget their grudges. **_Nor do they fail to honour favours._** "

He left and retreated. Never did either of them knew the last statement would be so true.

Regardless Dedue thanked Dimitri. "Thank you, Your Highness, for accommodating my selfish request."

"Think nothing of it. This was something I wished for, as well."

Dimitri smiled when he thought of the real people they should be thanking. Especially one certain person. "If you must give thanks, direct it at the church for allowing us to join the battle, and to our professor for leading the charge. It's about time we headed back. The professor and the others are waiting."

"I am right behind you."

\-----


	36. Rumoured Nuptials

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter six and takes place before chapter seven. Takes place very late in the month, only a few days before the battle of the Eagle and Lion event. Takes place after "Joke telling" & "The Jealous Prince" parts. Takes place on the 19th of the Wyvern Moon. This part is based on the Ingrid and Dorotheas' paralogue "Rumoured Nuptials." This part sort of references "The Grand Feast" part and it references "The Jealous Prince". Petra has joined the Blue Lion house. Dorothea hasn't joined the Blue Lion house yet at this point since she joins the month after. Takes place right after Ingrid, Dorothea and Byleth agree to go investigating. A bit of a Re tell of the paralogue "Rumoured Nuptials".

\-----

_Ingrid was surprisingly late to class seminar that morning so Byleth went to go and look for her._

This left Dimitri, Petra, Sylvain, Felix & Shamir in the classroom, waiting.

Sylvain looked slightly cheeky. "I gotta say, I'm surprised. Normally Ingrid would get here earlier than everyone else and then she would yell at me for being late."

"She's probably reading those books in private again. You know how she loves those knight books and whatnot." Felix rolls his eyes.

"Hmm... I don't know about that Felix." Dimitri wasn't certain about that.

Sylvain disagreed with Dimitri. "No I think Felix could be right, I mean Ingrid loves those books more than... well more than anyone really so It would make sense." 

Dimitri seemed puzzled. "But why would she be late today of all days?"

"Well... I don't know? Maybe she lost the book and... uh..... I don't know maybe just looked everywhere in the Cathedral?"

"Why in the Cathedral?"

Sylvain just shook his head. "I'm just trying to think of something."

Dimitri sighed. "Well why are we making a fuss over Ingrid being late anyways?"

Sylvain made a face. "No need to cry your Highness, we weren't making a fuss, we were just curious is all."

Dimitri was already getting confused with Sylvain. "I wasn't crying?!"

Shamir threw out a long sigh but looked slightly entertained. Sylvain still spoke up despite that. "Well you look like your about to cry you know."

"Do I?"

Shamir joined in. "Yeah there are tears coming out of your eyes right now." 

Dimitri looked a bit petrified from that statement. 

Petra had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. "I do not know what you're all meaning."

Her words were ignored though because Felix said something to Dimitri. "You're a gullible boar you know that?"

"Huh?" Dimitri being a bit dense on what he's talking about.

"Yeah we were uh.. sort of messing with you." Shamir let out a tiny grin. 

"Your naivety is going to be the death of you, you know? Especially since your dense of your own feelings for a _certain someone~_ " Sylvain was teasing Dimitri again.

"What? I don't have feelings for the Pro- er I mean for her!" Dimitri was frustrated now.

"Oh? And how did you know who I was talking about?" Sylvain grinned and winked at him.

Dimitri blushed slightly. "Well I... Sylvain stop. You're getting on my nerves."

Sylvain didn't stop there however. "Well, you did get jealous of me for being wi-"

Dimitri cut him off. "Sylvain I wasn't jealous of anyone for anything so keep your mouth shut."

Petra seemed even more confused. "Jealous of what? Did something happen?"

Sylvain turned towards Petra. "Oh that's right you weren't-"

Sylvain was interrupted by Byleth, Ingrid & Dorothea entering the classroom, catching everyone by surprise. 

Sylvain was the first to say something. "Woah there you are Ingrid! Were you reading books again?"

Dorothea frowned and responded. "Not necessarily reading a book but she was reading a stupid letter."

Sylvain didn't understand. "A stupid letter? And Dorothea what ar-"

Byleth unintentionally cut off Sylvain. "I'm sorry but we will need to be cancelling the seminar. We need to gather everyone up and investigate someone."

Now it was Felix's turn to speak up. "Why? What's happening?"

Byleth & Dorothea exchanged looks with Ingrid. Ingrid nodded at them and then they all looked back at everyone.

"We are investigating some jerk who wants to marry my Ingrid for her crest!" Dorothea crossed her arms.

This seemed to have confused everyone even more. Ingrid looked irritated with Dorothea. "Did you have to say it like that? Also I'm not yo- ughhh...."

Felix obviously had no clue what they meant. "Hold on... I still don't really follow."

"We'll explain everything when everyone else is here, Dorothea, Ingrid could you go and get Annette, Mercedes, Flayn, Ashe & Dedue?" Byleth looked at Ingrid and Dorothea. They both nodded back and ran to get them.

\-----

Not long after, they got the rest of the Blue Lion students but Catherine & Shamir accidentally got wrapped up into this. 

"So what's going on?" Ashe wondered

Byleth explained. "Ingrid read a letter which was a marriage proposal for her. A marriage proposal from a suitor she never met and-"

Dorothea cut Byleth off and finished it for her. "And this man is a terrible person! When I was a singer, he tried to court me when I was a singer. I have no doubt that this man only wants to marry Ingrid for her crest so he can adorn his family's name. There are also a ton of bad & damaging rumours about this jerk so we need to investigate so Ingrid doesn't have to accept this proposal despite the amount of money he offered."

This was quite a lot to take in at once. Mercedes looked pale as if she been in a similar situation herself but she remained quiet.

Everyone already hated the one who proposed to Ingrid but decided to stay quiet.

Felix finally spoke up. "So um... Where are we investigating exactly?"

"I've been told that he lives around in the Ailell area so thats where we'll go to investigate." Ingrid clarified.

Sylvain frowned even more. "Ailell? What? Why on earth would someone live there? That place is ridiculously hot!" 

"Look Sylvain, I'm not forcing you to come to in-"

Sylvain quickly cut Ingrid off. "No I will go but still! Urgh! Ailell is... just ridiculously hot!"

Shamir ignored Sylvain's comment and spoke up herself. "You gained permission from the Archbishop about going there right? Especially if you are taking Dorothea."

Byleth nodded. "We actually just came back from that. We gained permission from the Archbishop to investigate and to bring Dorothea along with us. She accepted. Anyways, are you all going to come with us?"

Everyone agreed to help investigate and so they made it to Ailell.

\-----

They found out more and more about this guy.....

The stuff they learnt wasn't really pleasant. 

Including stuff like his true actions and motives.

It disgusted everyone. Ingrid, Dorothea, Sylvain, Ashe & Dimitri the most.

They were almost investigating and started to make their way home.

Dorothea crossed her arms as they made their way back. "Pft... The more we look into this guy, the more I see he's a monster, and no good for my Ingrid!"

Ingrid agreed despite ignoring those last two words. "No kidding. There's no denying it. We'd better get back to the monastery."

They started making their way back to the monastery.

However...

"Hold on a minute, you brats."

An unfamiliar voice shocked everyone and they saw that the path in front of them seemed to be guarded all of a sudden by some Rogues that just ran into the area. They had their weapons out.

There was no way they could continue making it back to the monastery without a fight at this point.

Another rogue, not far from them yelled at them. "Hand over the girl!"

Ingrid was in a mix of surprised and frustrated when she saw these rogues and heard them. "Surely you can't mean me! Wait... Did he send them?"

Dorothea looked like she wanted to break something. "This jerk figures he can grab Ingrid before things get too messy for him. Of course, we know the truth about him now, and he'll want to kill us and get rid of the evidence... But we'll never let him take Ingrid. Come on, let's hurry!"

Everyone nodded and got ready for battle.

The goal was to either eliminate all the rogues or to safely help Ingrid get to the end of the path. 

Dorothea said something out of instinct. "Protect Ingrid! Don't let anyone get near her!"

One of the rogues must of heard her because he responded to that comment. "You'll never escape!"

Byleth looked around from where she was, trying to think of what to do though it wasn't exactly easy because... the heat was very... distracting. 

_"I'm never going to the sauna ever again after this..."_ She couldn't help but think to herself. 

Sothis yelled at her. _"Why are you thinking about that at a time like this? You fool! Now is the time to focus and not act like some silly child!"_

Byleth nodded to herself. Sothis was right. There was no time to think about that even if the heat was... like this. 

She thought of an idea.

She commanded Ashe, Catherine, Felix & Annette to go to the north east direction of the area. Shamir, Petra & Dedue stay where they are and everyone else goes towards the path to the monastery to help Ingrid return back. 

Ingrid stayed a bit further however while Byleth, Dimitri, Mercedes, Sylvain & Dorothea fought alongside one another to protect her.

It annoyed Ingrid a little but she still was able to fight a bit.

All of a sudden however, while they were not too far away from the destination, a rogue suddenly appeared from behind them, aiming towards Dorothea.

"I'll kill you!"

Before Dorothea had the chance to react, the rogue swung his axe at her. Dorothea was hit, badly injured from the wound.

"Dorothea!" Ingrid was shocked.

Byleth didn't hesitate to use Divine Pulse.

She travelled back and back, only around twenty seconds before the Rogue started to charge up towards her.

Byleth stopped focusing on the front and went closer to Dorothea.

"Professor!?" Dimitri didn't understand what she was doing all of a sudden.

Before anyone could respond, a rogue suddenly appeared from behind them, aiming towards Dorothea.

"I'll kill you!"

Before Dorothea had the chance to react, the rouge swung his axe at her but... she was pulled back with the axe swinging into the air instead of her.

"Professor!" Dorothea was shocked to be pulled out of harm like that and all of a sudden too.

Byleth glanced at Dorothea. "Let's finish him off Dorothea!"

Dorothea nodded and they proceeded.

Dorothea did a thunder spell while Byleth swung her sword at him, with both attacks, the rouge was down.

"Thank you Professor!" Dorothea was smiling. She couldn't help but feel... more comfortable fighting alongside the Blue Lion class. 

More comfortable than her own class even.

Byleth gave her a smile in return while they both then started to focus on the rogues in front of them again. 

Felix had finally defeated the one whom kept calling for reinforcements and they didn't worry about anymore sudden attacks...

Or at least they thought they wouldn't...

All of the rogues in front of Ingrid were defeated, she saw this as a chance to try and finally leave. "Sweet! We should be ok now!"

Ingrid ran there and let down her guard

However... there was a trap that nobody realised was there. Three more rogues showed up all of a sudden.

Ingrid was frustrated and so was everyone else. "Enemies in hiding...here? They are really getting on my last nerve!"

They all charged up towards her.

"Ingrid!" Sylvain yelled out

Ingrid wasn't able to do it on her own so Byleth had to rely on divine pulse again.

She travelled back in time, before Ingrid goes to the area.

All of the rogues in front of Ingrid were defeated, she saw this as a chance to try and finally leave. "Sweet! We should be ok now!"

Ingrid was about to run there but she was stopped by someone's hand on her shoulder. Byleth's hand.

"Hold on Ingrid, let me go there first. There may enemies in hiding."

Ingrid gave her a look. "What? That's ridiculous Professor! How would there be?"

Sylvain nodded at Ingrid and seemed to agree with Byleth. "She may have a point Ingrid, try to stay back."

Ingrid sighed but did what he asked. She couldn't believe she was also following Sylvain's advice now...

Byleth went to the area, on full alert and then the enemies jumped out of the hiding spots. 

It seemed like Byleth was right.

Ingrid was frustrated and so was everyone else. "Enemies in hiding...here? They are really getting on my last nerve!"

Byleth was joined by everyone else in fighting the rogues. 

When the three rogues were finished off, Byleth let down her guard and so did everyone else.

Except for Dimitri because he just noticed that there was suddenly a sniper from far that was aiming at... Byleth. The sniper let go of the arrow.

The arrow was fast so Dimitri instinctively grabbed Byleth's hand, pulled her over towards him to shield her, went in front of where the arrow was aiming and hit it with his lance. 

The rogue looked angry but then was stabbed from behind by Felix's weapon.

Ingrid finally made it to the destination.

"We... we made it... Oh thank goodness we made it..." Dorothea was panting.

"Yes we did. That was a hard fight wasn't it?" Mercedes sighed.

"It was. I need to speak with my father in person about the suitor about everything that happened today so you all go on without me." Ingrid said.

"Alright but PLEASE be careful! Ok?" Dorothea seemed concerned.

"I will. Don't worry." Ingrid smiled.

"Oh yeah Ingrid, you should tell Elric about what happened today because when Elric finds out, the jerk suitor won't live to see tomorrow." Sylvain joked.

"Well your not wrong about that part Sylvain but it would create more unnecessary chaos if he did find out." Ingrid waved and left.

Dimitri sighed in relief that everything turned out ok for everyone in the end. He then realised however that he was still holding on to Byleth's hand and is still shielding her. He didn't even check if she got injured or not from that sniper. He let go of her hand and then he turned towards Byleth and check to see if she was ok. "Professor, Are yo-"

He cut himself off, he didn't realise that he pulled her in so close and for this long too. He truly didn't mean to do that, he meant to shield her so she doesn't get hit sure but it didn't require him to be so close to her and for this long too. 

Everyone's eyes were now on them. This incredibly embarrassing situation.

Dimitri was flustered, started to blush hard then he quickly but gently pulled away. "P-Professor I'm so sorry I... I... I really didn't mean to... I-I.. I didn't mean to and for that long I... I... Oh my gosh I-"

Byleth cut him off, reassuring him."It's fine Dimitri and thank you for saving me from that sniper!"

Dimitri continued to apologise. He felt terrible for doing that. "It's not fine! I'm so sorry, I really truly didn't mean to pull you so close and I didn't realise I did...! I just- I... I'm so sorry I..."

"Really! It's ok! I understand!"

"Are you sure? But-"

"Dimitri, You're overreacting. It's ok!"

"But Profes-"

"ANYWAYS, we should head back to the monastery. The archbishop is probably wondering why we are all taking as long as we are." Shamir changed the topic and everyone nodded.

They made their way back. Dimitri was still flustered and he couldn't believe he did that. He seemed to be more bothered about it than Byleth was.

Catherine and Sylvain were the ones who were mainly walking alongside Dimitri, smirking at him.

Catherine spoke but only for Dimitri to hear. "I didn't know that you and Byleth were in a relationship."

Dimitri covered his face and was going to say something back but Sylvain took the opportunity. "Well....... They aren't dating but His Highness clearly has a cute crush on-"

Dimitri cut the off. "Sylvain, shut it please. Stop spreading such nonsense and lies and Catherine... We are not dating! Why does everything think that?"

"Everyone? Who else thinks that?" Sylvain seemed genuinely surprised.

Dimitri sighed. "That's not the point Sylvain. You need to-"

"Yeah yeah yeah I hear ya."

"No you don't."

Felix could hear this conversation and clearly had enough. "Ugh shut up you idiots. Forget it and move on."

\-----

Things ended up working out in the end. Ingrid and her father rejected the proposal and cut connections entirely with the suitor after finding out what happened. 

It all worked out in the end for everyone.

However Dorothea started to wonder what it would be like to be part of the Blue Lion house instead of the Black Eagle one. 

Perhaps she may join their house...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! It's me again! Now please read this. 
> 
> Now I may be able to do more frequent updates this week and it could continue on for other weeks too! :D 
> 
> Anyways time to clear up stuff! If your confused at what Dimitri did towards the end, he accidentally had Byleth really close to him (kind of like an unintentional embrace sort of lol) and her face close to his face. That's all really but he simply overreacted because Dimitri is Dimitri :p lol. Neither Dimitri nor Byleth realised how close they were to one another and forgot that they were even close at all was because of Ingrid leaving stealing their attention. I apologise if I didn't make this clear and I feel like I made this particular scene cringeworthy. Please don't hesitate to tell me if I did make it that because... ugh I really don't want to make this book cringeworthy. I mean it's already cringeworthy but I feel like I may have overdone it this time. Oh and Catherine knew they weren't in a relationship by the way, she was just messing with Dimitri... again lol.
> 
> Anywho your probably wondering who the heck this "Elric" person is. Well... you'll find out sooner or later bahaha.
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed this part. It was certainly fun to write but I feel like I made it cringeworthy. Again I apologise if I did.


	37. Swordsmanship Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey here's another part!
> 
> Anyways let me just say something. This part is based on the children that Byleth and Dimitri teach swordsmanship to after the C support between them. 
> 
> Just a warning though that I am... not great at writing children personas at all and I apologise if I made them cliched. This part is really important though and these characters are very important to a much later part... I mean I won't spoil but I think you might know. I guess I tried to make the younger ones more like myself and my friends at that age? As for the older ones, they're more mature because... Agh I can't tell you because reasons but you'll find out... eventually. Lol that's barely an excuse but I'm not great at writing children like characters, I'm just going to say that now lol. There will also be more parts like this taking place in pre time skip sometime in the future. Also I apologise if this unintentionally... a little bit oc like and I get why you'd hate this part for that reason. (Also the kids can't pronounce Byleth has nothing to do with their age. Byleth's name is just hard to pronounce for me and my friends irl at first. I pronounced it wrong for four months after I first heard the name bahaha. I even called him/her Beeleth instead of Byleth when the game came out and then I was told that wasn't how you properly pronounce it lol. I can't be the only person who struggled saying Byleth's name for a while, I know at least one person reading this, couldn't pronounce it without struggling at first either haha.)
> 
> Anywho I'll shut up. I hope you enjoy this part! :)

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place sometime after chapter 4 and takes place before chapter 5. Takes place a day after the C support of Byleth and Dimitri and a few days before the B support of Byleth and Dimitri.

\-----

_Dimitri had asked Byleth to help him look after some orphans._

Well... sort of.

In the monastery, There were many orphans that were around the age of seven to twelve that were going to be in Rhea's custody for a few months or so.

However one day, three young orphans saw Dimitri sparring with the knights and they had been pestering him ever since. Even more orphans who didn't even see the sparring match, wanted to learn from him too. Dimitri wasn't necessarily good with children but he felt like it was his responsibility to help them as much as he could. So... he agreed.

Unfortunately though, Dimitri already had a ton on his hands on the day they demanded to learn from him which was tomorrow.

Then Byleth walked in when he was lost in thought and alone in the dining hall, unsure what to do. He was relieved to see her.

He asked her if she could help him train these five kids on that day because of how amazing she was at swordsmanship herself and fortunately she agreed to help. From there they promised to meet tomorrow at the training grounds around the late morning to help the children with the swordsmanship.

The next day, Dimitri wasn't busy in the morning but was in the afternoon. These children were not early birds in the slightest so it was a bit of an issue. Byleth waited in the training grounds for a bit of a while but by choice because she didn't have much to do that day.

Then finally, she heard some footsteps and was hoping that it wasn't Felix or Catherine that was coming. Luckily though, it was Dimitri and five children alongside. Three boys and two girls. Two of them were skipping even. When they made it to where Byleth was, Dimitri sighed in relief.

"Thank you Professor for lending me a hand in this!" Dimitri seemed chipper to see her.

Byleth only nodded. "It's no problem Dimitri."

"Who's that?" A boy who seemed around eight years old was confused.

"His princess maybe." A disgusted seven year old boy said, poking his tongue out.

The older orphans glared at the eight year old boy for saying that due to how silly that was.

Dimitri was a bit flustered from that awkward question. "...No nothing like that."

The eight year old boy started throw guesses. "Hmmmm Sister then?"

"No not that either. She is my professor and she is the one who teaches me swordsmanship! She has much more experience than I do when it comes to strength and she will be helping you today with swordsmanship too!"

"Woah! Cool!" The eight year old girl was stunned and a bit excited after hearing that.

"Wait but your highness, does that mean you're not... training us today?" The eleven year old girl was looking a little bit sad.

"What?! B-b-but-!" The eight year old boy seemed sad

Dimitri felt guilty. "Well I mean... Uh... I'm sorry I just have a lot of work to do today but I promise tha-!"

"No fair! Me and Hugo were so excited! Why can't both of you just teach us today?!" The seven year old boy looked like he was going to cry. He pointed at the eight year old boy when he said Hugo so that must be his name.

"Can't you just stay a little while? I mean sorry to ask this but Hugo and Bryce were really excited and were talking about it all night. When I told them about this training match to wake them up this morning, they got out of bed so quickly. Heck that's the reason I even dragged myself out of bed this morning." The older boy bit his lip.

Dimitri seemed a bit puzzled. "Well... I mean I guess I can stay until around for a few minutes at least..."

"Yay!" The younger ones did a little celebration.

Dimitri realised something and went to talk to Byleth about it. "Oh yeah Professor, I believe I haven't introduced them yet. The two tallest and oldest children are Alea and Cain and the three younger ones are Hugo, Bryce & Elise! Bryce is the one with the more blonder hair."

Byleth nodded and remembered their names.

"Anyways, sorry about the younger ones. Should I call you something?" The oldest boy Cain who seemed around twelve years old, asked a bit forcefully but Byleth paid no mind to it.

"Ah my name is Byleth."

"...Leth? That's a weird name." Hugo stuck his tongue out trying to say her name.

"No it's not Leth its... actually why don't you just call me teacher." Byleth was so used to everyone not pronouncing her name right so it didn't really matter.

"Teacher? Hmm... ok we'll call you that but... never mind. Let's begin the training!" Alea changed the topic quickly.

"Hey! Why don't you both do a practice sparring match! I want to see who is truly stronger! Do the best you both can do." Cain seemed excited.

"Uh ok. Do you mind Dimitri?" Byleth asked

Dimitri shook his head. "I don't mind. Why not?"

He grabbed two harmless wooden swords and handed one to Byleth. The kids moved to the side to watch. They seemed extremely thrilled to watch while Byleth and Dimitri start to face each other with the fake swords in their hands.

Dimitri moved first and swung his fake sword at Byleth while she quickly dodged and started to aim herself. Dimitri barely defended himself in time when covering that aim with his own fake sword.

Their fake swords continue to hit each other despite the fact that they weren't aiming for the other person's sword. Dimitri was obviously struggling much more than Byleth and Byleth seemed victorious very quickly, winning over the kids.

"Please Teacher! Help me do that!" Elise ran to her immediately and begged.

"No! Me first!" Hugo got angry and tried to get to her first.

Cain and Alea looked slightly pale but were obviously impressed.

Dimitri smiled. "Oh would you look at that, I must head off and again Professor I apolog-"

Byleth shook her head. "Don't worry Dimitri. It's really no trouble at all."

"Still. I appreciate this, thank you. I must be off but I will find a way to thank you, I'll see all of you next time!"

The kids didn't hear him and didn't realise he was still here. They were too busy begging Byleth to teach them as if Dimitri stole his place.

Dimitri smirked and chuckled. "It seems like they like you way more than me, that is to be expected, you are much better at sparring then I am! Well again thank you professor, I'll see you around."

Byleth waved goodbye and then put her focus back on helping the kids.

He was in a bit of a rush to do what he needed to do quickly. He was really grateful for Byleth to help him like this.

He'll have to find a way to thank her...

\-----


	38. An Unusual Jealous Prince

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 7 and takes place before chapter 8. The Fifteenth of the Red Wolf Moon. Takes place after "Get Some Rest" part, "A Secret" part & "Heartwarming smilie" part. Takes place after Dorothea and Ferdinand's 'Bee support. Includes DLC characters. References "The Jealous Prince" part.

\-----

_Two days ago, Dorothea went and asked Byleth if she could join the Blue Lion class._

And since Byleth accepted, Dorothea found herself as a Blue Lion student now. 

Dorothea wasn't the only student who joined that moon. Byleth had invited Yuri & Hapi too. Things were looking quite good for the Blue lion students.

Byleth had also been getting invites to activities from other students that weren't even in her house.

Like on the Fifteenth... Ferdinand and Leonie for some reason asked her to eat lunch with them at the dining hall since they wanted to know why certain people wouldn't stop talking about her.

Byleth accepted since she had no other plans and was unable to ask any of the students if they wanted to eat in the dining hall since they mentioned they were going to spend some of the first few minutes with one another training with one another.

So they sat at an empty table, with one another with their food. 

They chatted with another.

"So Professor, do you know about what Marianne and Raphael have been saying about you?" Leonie started a topic.

Byleth expressed how suddenly curious she was. "I uh... I don't actually? They've been talking about me?"

Leonie slightly chuckled. "They never stop saying nice things about you actually! Well I mean, Marianne is always quiet but she seems to find herself trying to find opportunities to say nice things about you!"

Ferdinand seems to understand what Leonie means. "Yes Professor, I must say, Edelgard, Caspar and Dorothea talk about you all the time. I'll admit, I'm a little jealous though mainly because Dorothea hates me."

Byleth and Leonie were not expecting that last part at all. Byleth did wonder why Edelgard would say anything nice about her because they never even talked to each other that much at all. Though she does also wonder why Dorothea hates him.

But Leonie was quicker to respond to what he said. "What? Why does Dorothea hate you?"

Ferdinand bit his lip. "To be quite frank, I don't really know myself. She won't tell me why she hates me other than the fact she hates me because 'I'm like a bee' which I can't seem to figure what she means by that simile."

"That's odd." Leonie frowned.

Byleth for some reason, decided to imitate a bee. "...Buzz"

Ferdinand looked straight at Byleth. "....um do you know how or why I'm like a bee? Is that why you said that?"

Byleth shook her head, having a slight unintentional grin on her face. "No I don't know how or why she thinks your like a bee. I just... felt like saying that because... uh bees say that?"

"Don't mock me please." Ferdinand jokingly said.

They continued to chat further and occasionally eat their food. It got to the point to when the Blue Lions were finished with training and went to go eat lunch at the Dining hall. There was a slight frown from Dorothea when she saw Ferdinand eating lunch with Byleth but she shrugged it off quickly before anyone could notice and ate lunch with Ingrid who seemed very excited to eat her lunch.

Dimitri was a bit late to get to the dining hall compared to everyone else but Yuri and Mercedes weren't that far behind from Dimitri themselves either. He looked a bit excited and happy. It seemed like he wanted to ask a certain someone to have lunch with him again in the dining hall.

Then he actually arrived and looked around.

His excited grin fell and he started to glare at Byleth's table or specifically Leonie & Ferdinand. He didn't even know why he was glaring nor did he even realise that he was glaring at all. 

The glare wasn't too different to the one he gave to Sylvain when he was talking to Byleth that one time. 

As Dimitri continued to glare at Ferdinand and Leonie without realising that both Mercedes and Yuri were next to him. They are both staring and chuckling at him right there at how ridiculous it was seeing him glare so childishly.

"Heh. You uh... don't look too happy right now your Highness." Yuri had _that_ smirk on his face. The same smirk he has when he has a chance to tease someone. It didn't look too different to Sylvain's or Dorothea's.

Dimitri didn't hear him and continued to glare at Ferdinand and Leonie.

Mercedes try to say something out of her chuckles which made her stutter a bit. "Dimitri uh.. well I... You seem bothered.. er somewhat."

Dimitri still didn't hear them until Yuri waved his hand over Dimitri's eyes which finally got Dimitri to stop glaring. "Oh. My Apologies Yuri, I spaced out a bit there."

Yuri snorted. "Heh... Spaced out.. If you say so."

Dimitri didn't really understand what Yuri meant then but before he could comment, Mercedes joined in on the conversation. "Errr... SO uh Dimitri! Yuri! Would you like to have lunch with me here in the dining hall? You must be hungry after all that happened today!"

Dimitri, not entirely focused, nodded. "Oh uh sure... I mean yes of course Mercedes. I'll um join you."

"I'll join too..." Yuri accepted.

They all went to get their foods and went to an empty table.

When they went to the empty tables and then they all started to eat their lunch.

Well... sort of.

Dimitri would find himself quickly glimpsing at Byleth's table then back at the table, then glimpse again then look back.... and so fourth. He most likely didn't realise he was doing that.

".....You certainly won't get over Byleth sitting with someone else huh?"

Dimitri's attention suddenly went to the smirking purple haired guy sitting in front of him with Mercedes looked a little bit frustrated at him for saying that.

"....Sorry I didn't quite catch that." Dimitri did actually hear him but he thought that his ears were messing with him because he doesn't understand why Yuri would say that.

"You look very... uh... _conflicted_. Yeah that's the word. You seem very conflicted on the Professor there sitting with Ferdinand & Leonie."

Dimitri turned his head slightly and gave Yuri a confused look. "Do I?" 

"Yes you have been glaring at both Ferdinand and Leonie nonstop...... You may want to be careful, your jealousy is showing."

Dimitri was quickly flustered and was quick to defend himself. "Huh? I am not jealous of anyone and I wasn't glaring at all! What are you on about?"

Yuri rolled his eyes at Dimitri's denial. "Well that look on your face literally says 'I am jealous' all over it. I'm guessing it's about some err little crush you've got on the Professor.. right?"

Dimitri quickly shook his head. "....Little crush? Glaring? Jealousy? Stop being ridiculous. I don't have anything of the sort." 

Yuri snickered. "If you say so..."

"I don't! Yuri! Please stop saying bizarre things! Your reminding me of Sylvain even..."

Yuri gave him a look "Oh? Then why were glaring then?

Dimitri seemed hesitant and confused now. "I was... I wasn't.... What was I doing exactly Mercedes?"

Mercedes was caught off guard from the question suddenly being directed to her. "Huh?! Uh... You were... well... yeah Yuri is telling the truth."

Dimitri was upset at himself. "Oh no... Did I really do that?"

"Yup. I don't think I've ever seen someone get so jealous over something so small before. It's quite entertaining." Yuri is clearly amused.

"B-but I wasn't jealous! Yuri..." Dimitri kept hiding the truth. He never felt so furious with himself before on that he let himself act so childish.

Mercedes attempts to reassure him seriously. "Dimitri don't worry so much! Jealousy is natural especially since she spent more time with you than she spent with anyone else besides captain Jeralt so of course it may be a bit odd to see that, not to mention they're even not in our class! Please don't worry about it, it's all ok."

It seemed to have made it worse. "But I'm not-"

Dimitri cut himself off with a sigh.

Mercedes seemed concerned. "Do you think you might be jealous...?"

"Yes... I- Wait What? Well sort of but... bah I don't know what I'm saying or thinking anymore! Forget it, I'm acting childish just please don't tell the Professor or Sylvain or anyone about this for that matter. I'm so embarrassed about this..." Dimitri covered his face with his hands.

Yuri smirked. "So you admit it?"

Dimitri put away his hands and stared at Yuri. "Admit what?"

"That your jealous of Ferdinand and Leonie for spending time with her."

Dimitri sighed. "...Yes but I have no crush on her like you described before. Now please... don't tell anyone about my ridiculous behaviour, I beg of you."

"I won't tell anyone but... I may tease you about this again at some point though."

"Why?"

"Because it's amusing to tease people that's why."

Dimitri sighed. He could barely handle Sylvain, how is he going to handle Yuri also?

They all went back into eating right after and even chatted about other stuff but Dimitri was still absolutely furious at himself. He couldn't believe that he let himself be jealous...! Twice too! Not to mention over really stupid things!

 _"What is wrong with me? Why am I acting so stupid all the time now!? I need to stop being so childish and ridiculous..."_ Were continuous thoughts of his that he kept having that same day.

Though he was still happy to see her happily eating with Leonie and Ferdinand because she clearly enjoyed their company. That's what matters mainly.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heyooo! Sorry this part came a bit later than I initially intended for it to get release. I ended up getting a sore throat after the last part. I'm not entirely better yet but I'll get better soon. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this part. It was fun to write but I'm not entirely confident in how it came out. Hopefully I didn't make it cringeworthy? If I did, don't hesitate to tell me. I also apologise if both Yuri and Mercedes were ooc especially Yuri. Though speaking of Yuri, he'll reappear in a lot of parts and he may tease Dimitri again but not really the same way as Sylvain because the way they do it, is different imo. 
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading, expect more frequent updates from now on! I can't wait to publish some future chapties soon! For now though, keep your eyes peeled for more parts(:


	39. A Dance Representative

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Pre time skip, takes place after chapter 8 and takes place before chapter 9. After Marianne has joined the Blue Lions. Takes place on the Fifth of the Ethereal Moon. Takes place before "An Interest" part, "Washing Dishes" part and "Wonders of the Future" part. Based on the White Heron Cup request made by Rhea. Also inspired by a comic. Includes DLC characters (Yuri & Hapi) but doesn't spoil the side story.

\-----

_There was a dance competition taking place later this month._

This competition was better known as the "White Heron Cup" and each class needed a representative for the competition.

Byleth hadn't picked anyone yet...

Friday came along and the competition was around eleven days from then.

Almost all the students were in class on time that day and Byleth was there too.

However there were three missing...

Ingrid, Dorothea & Mercedes.

Fortunately though, Annette said that they were going to be a bit late.

Byleth nodded but instead of starting class, she brought something else on first.

"So are you all aware of the White Heron Cup?" Byleth asked out of the blue.

The students had a mixed reaction to that question. Some of the students' eyes were filled with excitement, others such as Ashe covered their face in horror, others rolled their eyes & the rest such as Dimitri, were lost in thought about something else.

Petra broke the silence though. "Yes, speaking of which, who do you plan on representing the White Heron Cup?"

Byleth looked a bit puzzled. "Ah yes... That is what I wanted to talk about first actually. I haven't picked someone yet. Picking someone is a bit harder than I thought it would be but mainly because you might need to be skilled in sword skills and magic along with it. Not sure why really, Rhea recommended this but regardless... would anyone like to volunteer?"

Annette, Petra & Flayn all seemed pale after that comment because they were only skilled in one of those two. They were going to volunteer but after those last two sentences, they decided not to.

Everyone though, stayed silent but Byleth didn't want to give on the idea there.

"Felix. Would you li-"

Felix shook his head. "Never"

Byleth wasn't really surprised to hear that answer. "Noted. Um Ashe, what about you?"

This startled Ashe "H-huh? Me?! I.. er don't think I will."

"Hmm... Yuri, why don't give it a try? Your great with magic and swords. I have also heard that yo-"

Yuri looked mortified. "Sorry Professor but no way in hell am I ever going to do that..." 

Yuri then turned towards Hapi and gave her a smirk. "Why not you Hapi?"

Hapi gave him a disappointed look. "...You're just trying to be mean to me now, aren't you Yuribird?"

"I'll take that as a no from both of you." Byleth sighed.

Yuri then brought the attention towards three others who haven't been asked yet and then spoke. "Dedue? Marianne? Annette? What about you guys?"

"W-wha?! Err that's not- not r-really a good idea. Um sorry but.. I'll um pass." Marianne looked down.

Dedue shook his head. "I'll do it if no one does it but... it would be wise if I don't get picked."

Annette shook her head. "I love dancing but I'm not good at um... using swords. You know your best option Professor is Dorothea. She meets the requirements better than everyone else."

"Or you know, there is a much better person right over there who's perfect!" Sylvain smirked.

Byleth focused on what Sylvain just said now. "Oh? Who are you referring to?"

Sylvain pointed at the blonde haired prince who seemed to be lost in thought and wasn't paying attention at all to what was going on.

"Does Dimitri want to represent the house for the White Heron Cup?" Byleth seemed a bit surprised. Dimitri didn't seem that interested in dancing and was never known to like music books.

Sylvain nodded. Almost everyone, even Yuri couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. 

Well Felix knew but he didn't stop Sylvain from saying that.

Byleth called out to him. "Dimitri?"

He didn't hear her. He seemed to be thinking of something else.

She walked towards him a bit. "Dimitri, would you like to represent the house?"

Dimitri must have heard her because he responded and snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh? What? Yes uh..."

Byleth was even more surprised. "Wait really?"

"Um wait.. Uh my apologies. What are you referring to?" Dimitri seemed to be in full focus again.

"Ah, I was asking if you wanted to volunteer for the White Heron Cup and you um.. I thought I heard you say yes."

Dimitri looked terrified. "The White Heron Cup... That's the dance competition isn't it?!"

"Yes it is. Your Highness. I recommended you to her because you're such a great dancer aren't you." Sylvain winked at him.

From there on, everyone realised that Sylvain was teasing them the whole time.

Dimitri never looked so mortified in his life. "No. Absolutely not! Please I beg you Professor, anyone BUT me! Please, I'll do anything if you don't pick me. Please don't pick me, please don't pi-"

Yuri decides to join in and purposefully tease Dimitri in a mean but fun way. He cut Dimitri off. "Don't worry Your Lordship. What you're doing is simple. You'll just be performing in front of over **_tons_** of **_impatient_** and **_critical_** people in the monastery with your **_dance moves_** and in front of judges that cannot **_tolerate_** failures at all. It will **_damage_** your reputation if you lo-."

Hapi rolled her eyes and cut him off. "Pffft if it's so simple then you should do it Yuribird."

Before Yuri could respond to that comment, Dimitri seemed even more desperate to not be picked. "Professor, I beg of you. Anything but that please! I am utterly serious. You'll damn us all if you pick me!"

"...Do you hate dancing that much?" Byleth couldn't resist asking that. It was admittedly a bit hilarious to see him act like this.

"...I don't hate dancing at all, I just... can't stand the thought of doing something like that for the house especially in front of everyone in the academy! I beg you Professor, pick anyone but me please! Please! Please!" Dimitri was begging and was overreacting quite a bit.

Byleth tries to calm him down. "Don't worry, I won't pick you if you are that against doing so. Please calm down."

Dimitri was smiling and sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. Thank you Professor. Please don't ever ch-"

The sound of the door opening of the classroom interrupted him. Dorothea, Mercedes & Ingrid returned from what it was they were doing.

"Apologies for being late Professor. We had to do something. I hope we didn't miss much." Ingrid spoke up first.

"Heh. You missed a performance from His Lordship right here." Yuri grinned.

Mercedes seemed a bit surprised. "Oh is that what that noise was? Dimitri were you the one who sounded like they were crying?"

"What?! Oh goddess... Don't tell me I was that loud?! My apologies! I'm so embarrassed! I truly didn't intend to sound so demanding and loud!"

"So does that mean you will dance?" Felix crossed his arms.

"...Please don't suggest anything of the sort anymore." Dimitri was blushing.

Ingrid had no idea what was going on. "Dance? What on earth are you all on about?"

Sylvain snickered. "His Highness threw a tantrum because he didn't want to be the house representative for the White Heron Cup."

Dimitri looked guilty. "Professor did that sound like a tantrum? Oh my goodness I didn't-"

Byleth quickly shook her head. "No Sylvain's being silly, it wasn't a tantrum at all. You didn't sound demanding to me so don't worry and you won't be the house representative ok? So please calm down Dimitri. I promise I would never force you to do that."

"The White Heron Cup?! Nice have you picked someone? Oh wait... Oh dear.... I hope It's not me.. Please don't say it's me." Ingrid gulped

Byleth sighed. "I haven't and I have no plans on forcing anyone to do it."

"Whew thank goodness. If that was what Dimitri was scared about, I don't think I can blame him."

"Professor! You haven't picked yet?!" Dorothea seemed excited and cut straight back to the main topic.

Byleth shook her head. "No I haven't. I need someone who is good at dancing but it might also require sword and magic skills. However Dorothea you are very talented in all of them. Would you like to represent the house?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'd love to! Thank you Professor, thank you! I don't think I've been so happy before! Thank you! Thank you!" Dorothea was clearly very excited.

With that, they finally went back to class.

Byleth couldn't help but wonder during that day. About Dimitri.

She never saw him so oddly scared before.

And about dancing of all things? He didn't even hate dancing but he seemed mortified to the idea.

It was honestly quite odd.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello! Here is a new part again yay! This sets up a few parts including "An Interest" and other future parts so I'd say this is important but particularly the end.
> 
> I got the idea to do this part from a comic I read even though it's not the exact same. I also just wanted to say this, Dimitri's, Ingrid's, Felix's, Linhardt's & Claude's ingame reactions to being chosen for the white heron cup and winning it are gold. Dimitri's especially. "What? Curse you Professor! I will of course accept but know that you have damned us all!" is a hilarious line I honestly didn't expect lol. Chris Hackney's delivery on that line was just perfect too bahaha.
> 
> Anyways I'm rambling. I hope you enjoyed this part! Be excited for the future parts that will be written this week because I'm going to write more than one part per week for a while so stay alert. Love you all ♥


	40. Sitri & Flowers

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Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter six and takes before chapter seven. The day this is taking place on is the 12th of the Wyvern moon. Takes place after "Joke telling" & "The Jealous Prince" parts and takes place before the "Rumoured Nuptials" part. Part is based on a dlc quest called "Flowers For Her" made by a monk (Spoilers for Cindered Shadows: Also known as Aelfric). Spoilers for the beginning of Cindered Shadows. (However though, this part is one of the most important parts in this book and you'll find out why later, so reading this part may be necessary despite the DLC spoilers). A bit after Aelfric asked Byleth to get some flowers and she is still in the garden. Dialogue for request may not be the exact same.

\-----

_Dimitri was walking from the Knights' Hall to the reception hall until something caught his attention._

There was a man at the graveyard, staring at one of the graves. Dimitri was looking at him from near the top of the stairs.

Dimitri knew that there was a graveyard and he knew that there was only one person that was known to be buried.

But Dimitri never really knew who was buried there... He only knew it was someone named Sitri and they worked at the church. That was all he really knew since many didn't really know much about this Sitri person.

He found himself looking at the man for a while.

This man had long brownish hair and was wearing an outfit that had mixed colours of red, brown & black. He had a bit of a sad expression on his face and was mumbling to himself.

Dimitri didn't realise he was even staring at him until the man suddenly turned his face towards him.

This made Dimitri jump a bit and he quickly apologised. "M-my apologies. I didn't mean to intrude!"

Dimitri was expected to be scolded at but that didn't end up happening.

The man smiled at him kindly. "Don't worry young man, It's not much trouble at all."

Then the man stared at Dimitri a bit as if he realised something. "Wait a moment... Are you the prince of Faerghus? I've seen you a few times with Byleth when I visited the past few moons."

The man made his way up the stairs as he said that. Dimitri was a bit confused because he had never seen this guy before. Also this was the first time he'd met someone that was more curious about the fact that he was spending time with Byleth than him being a prince.

"Oh? Have you visited?"

The man bit his lip but answered regardless. "Ah yes... You see I used to work at the church but I got ki- I mean I retired a long time ago. I just wanted to visit Sitri's grave and I asked the professor if she could pick some flowers for her a bit earlier. I may leave when Byleth comes back."

"Oh I see..." Dimitri didn't really know what to say.

"I must say, I've seen you and Byleth together quite a bit when I have visited this month. Are you both lovers or something of the sort?"

"Ah yes somethin- Wait what? N-no! Nothing like that just uh... She is the professor of the Blue Lion house and I am the house leader. That's all really." Dimitri was a bit red after that unintentionally awkward question from the man.

The man looked a bit guilty for asking that. "Oh my apologies. I didn't mean to uh... make it awkward or embarrassing and make an assumption like that."

Dimitri was still red and a bit embarrassed but he couldn't help but ask something. "It's fine.. Uh I-I hope you don't mind me asking but um... not that it bothers me at all but.. Do we um.. Appear as a couple to you...?"

Dimitri had no idea why he asked that and wanted to punch himself for saying it but it was too late now. The man answered. "Hmm... sort of yes but I realise I was incorrect. I- Oh?"

The man's attention drifted elsewhere. Dimitri followed his gaze.

It was Byleth walking towards them with her holding some lovely, pale pink flowers. She seemed surprised to see Dimitri there but she didn't make a comment.

The man smiled when she gave him the flowers. "Thank you so much. This is just the type of flower she once loved dearly."

Byleth seemed a bit surprised. "Was it? Er.. I know it's a bit selfish but I chose my um.. Favourite flower type, if that's ok?"

"Of course! I think your mother would have been thrilled about you picking your favourite flowers. Not to mention, these were also her favourite." He smiled.

Dimitri was a bit lost. He had no idea that Byleth's mother was Sitri.

Byleth walked down the stairs and put the flowers on Sitri's grave.

She walked back up the stairs.

The man smiled at her. "I can rest easy now. I must be off. Take especially good care of yourself, won't you? Please, look after Jeralt. She'd have wanted that."

Byleth nodded.

He then walked away and they both waved at him.

Byleth had a question and so she faced Dimitri. "I know it's none of my business but... Did you know him before? I saw you both talking to one another on my way here."

Dimitri shook his head. "No I didn't. We only met today. Professor, was he a friend of your mother?"

"Ah well it seems so. My mother died when I was a baby so I don't remember her sadly but he told me about her. Though I truly didn't realise that we both had the same favourite flower type."

Dimitri didn't want to push further about her mother so he instead asked her about the Valerian Flowers. "Do you like plants?"

Byleth nodded. "Yes! I love them! I work in the garden a lot especially during weekday nights. Sometimes in the day, Dedue & Ashe help me water them."

Dimitri wasn't surprised to hear that about Dedue. He chuckled a little. "Sounds like something Dedue would do."

Byleth slightly chuckled a bit too. "Doesn't it? Anyways, I love the Valerian Flowers. Do you have a favourite flower type, Dimitri?"

"Well uh... I'm admittedly the biggest fan of plants but I don't dislike them at all either. I think the Lily flowers. They look nice."

Byleth looked like she was in a better mood. They chatted for a while and then eventually went their separate ways for the day.

\-----


	41. Bernadetta's Birthday Presents & Smiles

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place after chapter eight and takes place before chapter nine. Takes place on the twelfth of the Ethereal Moon which is also Bernadetta's birthday. Takes place before "Wonders of the future" & "Heartbreaking tears" parts and takes place after "An Interest", "A Dance Representative" & "Washing Dishes" parts. Takes place after the B support with Bernadetta.

\-----

_Byleth & Bernadetta surprisingly got along very well._

Bernadetta normally just runs away in the sight of anyone but she felt comfortable with some people at the monastery including Byleth.

Even though Bernadetta had no interest in joining the Blue Lion class since she is terrified of certain people in that class (Yuri, Felix, Ingrid and Petra mainly) but she certainly enjoys spending time with Byleth.

Meanwhile though, The 12th of Ethereal moon has arrived and Byleth knew what she wanted to do that day.

Finally when the class was over for the day, Byleth looked like she was looking for something under her desk but then Annette & Mercedes appeared in front of her. Most of the students were still in the classroom.

"Hi Professor! Would you like to hang out with us for a little while." Annette asked with a smile on her face.

Byleth stood back up, holding a teddy bear for some reason, surprisingly both Annette and Mercedes. She shook her head. "Normally I would but unfortunately I can't. I already made plans for today."

They both looked disappointed. 

"Oh ok, maybe next time then!" Annette started walking away.

Mercedes stayed however and continued to talk to Byleth. "Is that your teddy bear Professor?"

This caught some of the students' attention because that was not a question they thought they would be hearing today.

Byleth looked down on the bear and then looked back up at Mercedes. Byleth shook her head. "Not exactly. It's a present for someone!"

Mercedes gave her a teasing smirk. She looked at Dimitri for just a second and then straight back at Byleth. "Oh? Who is it for? Are you giving it to your crush?"

Dimitri stopped walking away the moment that question was asked and Mercedes had a feeling he did. Dorothea also not only stopped walking away but she even started to walk towards Byleth & Mercedes. 

Byleth was confused. "Um...No? It's for a friend"

Dorothea joined in and put her arm over Byleth like they were childhood friends. "No need to be shy Professor, we won't tell anyone it's for your crush."

They both had a silly smile on their faces and Dorothea even winked just to annoy Byleth a little bit.

Dimitri snapped out of it and continued walking away. He could slightly still hear them but that wasn't the intention. He didn't realise he was standing still like he was for so long and he's mad at himself for doing so. 

"...What is the matter with me?" He mumbled to himself and sighed. He couldn't let himself get distracted. He needed to go the marketplace at the moment so he headed off to there.

Byleth sighed and answered Dorothea's teasing. "Please stop acting ridiculous. I am just giving Bernadetta a present because it's her birthday. Anyways, I should probably visit her now"

"Don't worry Professor, we were just teasing." Mercedes giggled.

"But it certainly won't be the last time we do so!" Dorothea grinned.

Byleth sighed again. "I didn't think it would be the last time."

Byleth finally left the room and headed to the quarters, Bernadetta's room.

When she arrived, the door to Bernadetta's room was closed like it would normally be during free times.

Before Byleth knocked on the door, she heard Bernadetta talking to herself.

_"I should've have gotten some sweets... maybe should I get some but.. I don't want to leave my room..... Urgh Bernie your such a-"_

Byleth knocked on Bernadetta's door which startled her enough cut herself off. "Gah! Who's there?"

"It's me Bernadetta, don't worry"

"Oh Professor! Was there something you needed?" She sounded more relieved.

"Happy Birthday Bernadetta! Could you open the door so I can give you a present?"

"What?! Thank you Professor!" Bernadetta opened the door and her jaw dropped when she saw the teddy bear.

"This is adorable Professor, thank you!" Bernadetta was smiling and hugged the bear when Byleth handed it to her. 

"I also heard you wanted some sweets right?"

Bernadetta was blushing and getting a bit defensive. "H-hey! You weren't s-supposed to eavesdrop! Grrrr...."

Byleth chuckled a bit. "Sorry Bernadetta, I couldn't help it. Well since it's your birthday, I'll buy you some sweets and bring them back to you."

"Wait really?! Ahhhh I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know I just am! You keep wasting time on-"

"Don't say that Bernadetta. I'm buying you sweets. Now just wait here." Byleth walked away.

"Thank you Professor but- oh who am I kidding, I'm hungry." Bernadetta shut her door closed.

Byleth made her way to the marketplace and went to some of the merchants. 

Dimitri who was still there, could see her. She then saw him.

She greeted him. "Hello Dimitri! What a coincidence, what brings you here?"

"Oh Professor! I.. er... was just buying some supplies, uh how about you?"

"I just went to pick up some sweets for Bernadetta." 

"Ah I see..."

Byleth went back to talking to the merchant while Dimitri continued talking to another merchant.

Byleth asked the merchant off. "Could I please buy the baked treat you've got?"

The merchant nodded. "Certainly. That will be 100G. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"That wou-" Byleth cut herself off. She looked at Dimitri for a moment. It seemed like he was leaving 

_"Maybe I should get something for him."_ She thought to herself.

"Could I get the... hmm...Oh! Could I get a whetstone please?"

"300G. Many Thanks! Return soon please!" 

Byleth nodded and went after Dimitri.

"Hey Dimitri wait!"

Dimitri turned around, he wasn't really expecting that. "Yes Professor?"

"Um.. This might be a bit random but here!" She handed him a whetstone.

Dimitri stared at it for a bit. 

Byleth spoke. "Ah heh... I'll admit it's kind of random me but I wanted to get you something while I was there."

Dimitri looked at Byleth and smiled at her. "Thank you Professor. I will gladly take this." 

Byleth smiled back at him. "No problem! Well I must head but I'll see you later."

She waved him goodbye and left. Dimitri didn't wave back because... that smile caught him off guard. 

He didn't realise his face was red entirely.

He realised something then. He thought to himself. " _Why do I always act like this when I see a genuine smile and only from her? ...Maybe Sylvain and everyone else might be ri- Wait no! I... I need to get it together..."_

He thought about her smile again and it made him smile. 

\-----


	42. The Forgotten (Paralogue)

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter six and takes place before chapter seven. Takes place after the "Joke telling" part, "The Jealous Prince" part and "Sitri & Flowers" part. Takes place before "Rumoured Nuptials" part & "The Grand Feast" part. Takes place on the 15th of the Wyvern Moon. Based on Sylvain's paralogue and is meant to foreshadow events that take place many years later in this book.

\-----

_Sylvain came bursting unexpectedly in class that morning._

Everyone assumed this would be another one of his jokes... but this time... things were more serious. Not to mention Byleth wasn't even there in the room yet either.

Ingrid was the first to say anything when he suddenly came in to class. "Where have you been?"

Sylvain unexpectedly frowned. "Ah sorry... This is a bit sudden but...." 

He sighed and then continued. "I'd like to ask a favour. A band of thieves that were once led by my own brother are causing trouble in Gautier's territory."

"What?!" Dimitri seemed alarmed.

"Yeah... Well.. I'll need to stop them but I cannot do that on my own. I may need a hand from you all."

"Erm is the professor ok with this?" Ingrid bit her lip.

Sylvain nodded. "Yes, she's also going to go there with me to stop these thieves from damaging anymore territories, she's just asking the archbishop about it. Is anyone willing to come with us? We cannot let the thieves run wild anymore."

Sylvain explained everything in more detail about this mission and with that, everyone agreed to go which shocked Sylvain. "Are you serious? Really?"

"Why would you be surprised? Of course we'll help out!" Ashe smiled.

"Thank you al-"

Sylvain got interrupted when Byleth suddenly walked in.

"Professor! There you are!"

Byleth nodded towards Sylvain. "Hello Sylvain, I have checked with Rhea if we could go and she allowed it."

"Fantastic! So should we prepare?"

She nodded again which basically meant yes.

Once everyone got ready, they headed immediately to the Gautier Territories. 

\-----

When they got there, the place was entirely filled with them everywhere.

But Byleth thought of an idea, a cornering attack.

She suggested for Dedue, Mercedes, Ashe & Petra to take the left corners while Dimitri, Sylvain, Felix, Annette, Ingrid and herself will focus on the right corners.

This idea worked smoothly for the most part however it seemed the thieves were aware of their presence so it seemed like that four of them scattered around the area were trying to do an escape route for the rest of the other thieves.

Sylvain noticed this so he suggest Byleth some advice. "OK, we've got the thieves covered on both sides. Some of the thieves are still carrying what they stole, so we have a chance to get it back. Gotta be careful though. They'll run off faster than a nobleman's daughter if we just rush in. Target the strongholds to cut off their escape routes."

Byleth looked around and understood what he meant. They have a better chance at wiping the thieves out if they focus on defeating the leaders. 

Byleth, Dimitri & Sylvain weren't far off from one of them so they focused on that one.

Dedue, Mercedes, Ashe & Petra were in the middle of two escape routes that are being defended by those strongholds that Sylvain was talking about.

Ingrid, Annette & Felix were closer to the fourth one that was straight from their angle.

With that, Byleth commanded them.

Sylvain immediately went straight from his angle towards the stronghold that he, Byleth and Dimitri weren't far from. It wasn't that hard because Sylvain could move a lot more than the others other than Ingrid due to his horse.

Byleth and Dimitri followed from close behind.

There were five thieves in front of the stronghold. Two swordsmen, two axemen and one thief that just used their fists as their weapon.

Sylvain and Dimitri aimed for the two swordsmen while Byleth focused on one of the axemen. 

Then the other axemen and the guy who used his fists came closer while the stronghold just stayed where he was.

It didn't look like some of these thieves no longer cared about defending the stronghold and just wanted to kill them.

After Byleth defeated the axemen and Sylvain defeated the swordsmen, the stronghold was no longer unaccessible.

Sylvain immediately went to the stronghold. It seemed like the guy knew who Sylvain was which made sense considering that he worked with his brother.

"Hey, I know that face. You're the boss's little bro, right?" Thief leader exchanged words with him. Both Byleth and Dimitri could also hear them

Sylvain made a small sigh. "I'm sorry to say it, but yeah, I'm his brother. And he's led you into a bad spot. Anyways, your boss is dead. So this is your chance to disband this little thief gang of yours."

"Quiet, fool! You think I have any other choice but to be a thief?"

"Well, it's probably on me for making such a stupid request."

Then Sylvain swung his lance at him which quickly ended the stronghold's life.

One escape route down, three more to get rid of.

Meanwhile Ingrid, Felix and Annette were not far off from the other stronghold but there were still some thieves attempting to escape at that one.

So it went like this instead. Felix would focus on the stronghold while Annette and Ingrid were meant to prevent anymore thieves from interfering.

Annette did many fire spells and Ingrid was very quick with her spears, making the job easier. However Ingrid needed to be careful with the amount of archers in the area.

Then Felix attacked the leader who was also an archer and because of that, couldn't counter attack. With that, Felix quickly took him down.

Two escape routes down, two more to get rid of.

Dedue, Mercedes, Ashe & Petra were in between the remaining thieve leaders.

So Byleth suggested they split into two groups to wipe out the two leaders while the she and others who have defeated the other leaders will be trying to prevent anymore thieves from escaping. 

They followed this plan. Ashe and Petra took control of the top while Dedue & Mercedes focused near the bottom of the area.

One thief attacked Mercedes but she counter attacked with Nosferatu, which ended up healing her a bit and getting rid of the thief that did that. Byleth told her to drink a concoction just in case.

Mercedes and Dedue made a good team when they took down the leader.

Three escape routes down, one more to get rid of.

Most of the thieves were running towards that remaining escape route, not even bothering to fight anyone just to get past.

This didn't get Petra or Ashe to hold back in anyway though. With Ashe's excellent hit rate and Petra's sword skills, the leader went down very fast.

All of the escape routes were finally down. This fight was now much easier for Byleth and everyone to complete. 

They attacked the remaining thieves and took back everything. Making this mission a success.

\-----

Later that day, Byleth thought about those words that Sylvain had mentioned about Faerghus. About how it's always been a cold place. How it became more hellish after the tragedy of Duscur. How unstable the Kingdom has become. 

He told her that he does hope when Dimitri gets on the throne, things will become much better.

Byleth for some reason, had total confidence that things will get better when Dimitri gets on the throne.

She had no idea why. 

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Another Paralogue retell. I'm so sorry ahhhh. The next few parts will be paralogues, then there will be a focus soon on the Ethereal Moon month, the children that Dimitri took care of and... I'll let you guess what's next.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	43. Sword and Shield of Seiros (Paralogue)

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter six and takes place before chapter seven. Takes place after "Joke telling" part, "The Jealous Prince" part, "Sitri & Flowers" part, "The Forgotten" part & "Rumoured Nuptials" part. Takes place before "The Grand Feast" Part. Takes place on the 23rd of that Wyvern Moon. Based on (and a retell of) Alois and Shamir's paralogue and is meant to foreshadow events that take place many years later in this book. (One of the most important parts in this book due to the foreshadowing and hints in this)

\-----

_In the entrance hall, Byleth was just on her way to class while Shamir and Alois were having a conversation._

She heard a little bit on what they were saying.

Shamir spoke. "...And that is our situation."

Alois frowned. "But with so few knights, we'll surely-"

Just as Byleth walked pass them, Alois spotted her and seemed to have an idea. "Ah Professor! Excellent timing."

Byleth stopped where she was to listen to him. "What's going on?"

Shamir gave Alois a look. "Alois. You're not going to suggest we send students, are you?"

Alois did a small chuckle and then grinned at Shamir. "I am, actually. Do you have a problem with that?"

Shamir frowned and bit her lip. "I do. We can't send them out on a knight's mission without Rhea's blessing."

"I'm sure I can get the go-ahead. I'll just say the students have a...new field opportunity, or something like that. Besides, we'll be there. We're not going to let them get killed by pirates."

Byleth literally had no context and had no idea on what they were talking about so she didn't hesitate to ask. "What's this about pirates?"

Shamir looked at Byleth. "There are pirates causing havoc in the port of Derdriu, at the center of House Riegan's territory."

Alois joined in the explanation. "The Merchants' Association sent a request via the Eastern Church, asking for protection."

Byleth didn't quite understand what they meant. She didn't even know anything about this 'eastern church' they meant. "The Eastern Church?"

Shamir wasn't sure if she was surprised to hear that or not surprised at all. "You haven't heard of the Eastern Church? I suppose that's because they don't have much of a presence." 

Alois clarified on about the Eastern Church for Byleth. "The Eastern Church controls eastern Fodlan. They don't have a standing army like we do. So, for incidents like this, they customarily ask for help from the Central Church."

Shamir looked emotionless as always when she spoke. "I imagine they want to contribute to make their presence known in the Alliance." 

"Be that as it may, we knights are quite busy. We don't have personnel to spare. Therefore, we're enlisting your help!"

Shamir grinned when she realised that she may see Byleth in action again just like that other time when helping her, Dorothea and Ingrid with that mission one time. "You should have some experience dealing with pirates from your mercenary days, right?"

Byleth nodded. "I do."

Shamir looked back at Alois. "The students have dealt with pirates, so this shouldn't be a problem for them."

Alois spoke. "Come with us, won't you? Think of it as a training exercise. The Merchants' Association will reward us handsomely!"

While Alois worded that in a very... Alois way, Byleth nodded regardless. "Let's go."

Shamir looked back at Byleth. "We don't have time to lose. Let's take care of this quickly."

They all immediately got all of the Blue Lions and helped prepare them for this upcoming battle.

\-----

While Byleth did expect to see pirates, she didn't at all expect to see pirates from the left to right of Derdriu. It was an absolutely unusual scene for them to look at. 

Thankfully though, Byleth, Shamir, Alois & all of the others from the monastery made it there to protect the merchants' in time. Who knows what could've happened if they hadn't made it in time.

They couldn't let a single pirate enter Derdriu no matter what. They all guarded the entrances of the place so no pirate can kill any lives when they enter. Byleth, Shamir and Alois stayed close to on another when guarding the north-east entrance of the area with Dimitri & Dedue not far behind. Everyone else such as Petra, Felix, Mercedes & Ingrid focused guarding near the south entrance.

The pirates however, didn't seem like they had any interest in surrendering anytime soon.

"Tremble before us! We are the great navy of Almyra! Resist and we'll burn this town to the ground!" A pirate which may be the captain, declared.

Byleth knew who it was she needed to take out now, the captain that yelled that.

Alois spoke out loud after that ridiculous comment made by the pirate. "The Almyran Navy... This is going to be tougher than I expected." 

Shamir didn't believe the pirates' comments for a second. "They're obviously bluffing, but it seems to be working on the merchants. Shall we?"

One of the merchants saw one of the Blue Lions and seemed relieved. "It's the knights! Please, save us! We'll reward you handsomely!" 

Another merchant begged Alois for help. "It would be a disaster if they attacked our shops. Please, don't let them into town!"

Alois smiled and reassured the merchant. "We've got you. Leave it to the Knights of Seiros!"

Everyone waited for Byleth's orders.

She seemed a bit stressed considering this mission was a bit different to normal but she managed to stay calm. 

She thought maybe herself, Shamir & Alois should focus on taking down the pirate captain but not immediately. There were too many pirates and they were outnumbered. 

So she had for the meantime, everyone focus on preventing any pirate from breaking in the town.

Without realising it though, there was a pirate charging up towards her. She didn't notice it because of the other pirates she was dealing with at the same time.

Dimitri did however and he realise she didn't which made him worry. He couldn't help her in time so he warned her. "Professor watch out! There is a pirate aiming straight at you!"

This only made the pirate go faster towards her even though Byleth could see him.

However... All of a sudden there was an arrow that went past her and hit the pirate right in the stomach.

Byleth finished off the other pirates that surrounded her in the front of the entrance. She gave Shamir a smile which pretty much said "thank you" all over it.

Shamir slightly smiled back. She went a bit closer to where Byleth, Dedue, Alois and Dimitri were.

Finally the numbers of the pirates that were scattered around both entrances seemed to have decreased majorly. With this, Byleth, Alois and Shamir went straight to the pirate ships and the captain of it. Alois was slightly hesitant since he hates traveling by sea but they weren't exactly traveling so it turned out ok in the end.

For some reason though.. When Byleth fought alongside them on the ships, it felt so... right? Like as if they were some... mercenary trio of some sort...

Byleth couldn't really tell if either Alois nor Shamir felt the same way. It was rather difficult to tell.

But hopefully.. 

She will fight alongside them again. 

When they reached to the pirate captain, Shamir aimed with her bow at the captain while Byleth & Alois swung their weapons at him. They quickly ended this pirate captain off with the teamwork they helped one another on. Successfully ending this mission.

Alois seemed relieved. "Well, that's over with. They were a lot more trouble than I expected."

One of the merchants ran up to the trio. "Thank you so much! Here's your reward. Please, take it.

\-----

Byleth, Alois and Shamir all headed in the entrance hall. A bit exhausted from before.

Alois was the first one to say anything. "Good gracious, I didn't expect it to become such a large-scale battle."

Shamir then spoke. "It seems they caused the merchants unnecessary confusion by disguising themselves as Almyrans."

"We taught the pirates a lesson though. That should calm them down a bit. I know this was more than you signed up for, but you really saved us!"

Byleth smiled. "It was an interesting experience."

Shamir slightly smiled back which was a bit surprising. "Thanks for your help. This can't be how you were expecting your day to go."

Alois started grinning himself and then joined in. "Patient and understanding, just like Captain Jeralt. We owe you a token of our appreciation, I think. Take the reward from the Merchants' Association. Share it with your students, if you like."

Byleth didn't expect them to go this far. "Really?"

Shamir nodded. "Take it. We'll collect our reward from the Eastern Church. Besides, Alois could never take it for himself."

Alois agreed with that statement. "Of course not! We knights serve as the sword and shield of Saint Seiros herself. We pride ourselves on our integrity! We reject all rewards that are not perfectly legitimate!"

Shamir looked back at Byleth and made a comment about him. "In other words, he's a coward who would feel guilty and lose sleep over it."

Alois wasn't too pleased to hear that. "Hmph."

Shamir smiled again. "That's also one of his many merits."

Alois spoke up after hearing that transition of words. "Shamir, you don't mince words. Though it does seem like you've learned how to show a little respect."

"Must've learned that from you."

Byleth chuckled a little bit at their conversation.

Dimitri and Ingrid entered the room but no one seemed to have noticed. They both could hear them but it wasn't their intention to eavesdrop.

Alois continued the conversation. "I don't remember teaching you that. Anyway Professor, keep the compensation. I'd say you've earned it. Those merchants really needed your help. For all the buying and selling they do, they're not so good at **trading blows!** "

The room went silent after that horrible joke. Shamir & Ingrid were very unimpressed with that joke. Byleth even frowned at Alois after that joke even though she didn't entirely mean to. 

Dimitri on the other hand... for some reason had his hand covering his mouth as if he is trying to resist not laughing.

Alois realised the awkwardness of the situation so he explained himself. "Get it, "trading blows"? They... And merchants, they... Oh, forget it."

While Dimitri was covering his mouth from trying to not laugh even harder, Shamir changed the topic. "We have to prepare for our next mission. Until next time, Professor."

Shamir left the room.

Dimitri couldn't resist laughing anymore. "Pfffffft- Hahahaha! Oh Alois! That joke was- Hahaha"

Alois looked happier while Byleth and Ingrid stare at both of them in surprise. Not to mention the joke that was made was probably one of the worst they've both ever heard in their life.

Byleth then felt like a fool because this wasn't the only time she saw Dimitri laugh like this. 

However, putting that terrible joke aside and whatever Dimitri and Alois ended up talking about, Byleth still couldn't help wondering how nice it would be if she could spend more time with them. Not as comrades but perhaps as friends.

These thoughts were a bit embarrassing to have but it was still a nice one.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This part is imo one of the most important because it foreshadows many events specifically the roles that Byleth, Alois and Shamir will end up having in the post war events. I won't spoil what it is because I'd like it to be a surprise. You also might want to keep in mind that this is one of the last parts that takes place in this month of this year. There's a very small amount of parts left. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this one and Yes I know, I need to get better at writing battle scenes. I promise you that is one of my biggest priorities with this book.


	44. True Chivalry (Paralogue)

\-----

Pre timeskip, Takes place after chapter seven and takes place before chapter eight. Takes place after "Get Some Rest" part, "A Secret" part, "Heartwarming Smile" part and "An Unusual Jealous Prince" part. Takes place on the 16th of the Red Wolf Moon. Based on Felix's paralogue and is meant to foreshadow events that take place many years later in this book.

\-----

_Byleth was just randomly standing around in the common room._

She just found herself standing there for a while until someone finally walked in.

"There you are. I was looking for you."

Byleth was slightly startled after hearing that voice all of a sudden. She turned her head towards whoever it was that said that. The owner of that voice was Felix.

Before she could respond, Felix spoke. "I need a favour."

Byleth gave him a confused look. "It's unusual for you to ask for help."

Felix nodded. "Yes. It's an unusual favour."

Then Felix looked down, slightly frowning. "My father sent a messenger. He wants me to return to Fraldarius territory."

"Your father?" Byleth asked. She feels like she has met Felix's father before.

Felix answered her question. "Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius, the highest ranking member of the Faerghus nobility. I believe you've met. So I heard."

Felix went straight back to the topic on the favour. "But about the favour. You're familiar with the Tragedy of Duscur, I presume?"

Byleth didn't exactly know that much about it but she does know from what Ashe, Catherine and Dimitri told her from that one mission. She is yet to know all of the details but she certainly was familiar with it and what happened to the king and all those involved. "I am."

Felix looked down as he started to speak again. "After the king's death, public order disintegrated. Bandits continue to raid villages across the Kingdom, including those within Fraldarius territory. My father says he needs my help driving the bandits away."

Byleth knew where this was going. "And you want me to join you?"

Felix did a small grin after she said that. "Precisely. Good guess."

Then his grin slightly fell. "Perhaps I shouldn't pull you into this... It stems from my family's failure to secure the region. But honestly, I want to see you in action. I never tire of watching you fight. And it'll be much more interesting for you than the training ground. Or maybe this task--driving off bandits--seems dull to a former mercenary?"

Byleth thought a bit before she answered but she didn't really have any other plans at that moment. She nodded. "I'll join you." 

Felix seemed pleased even though he didn't exactly show it. "Excellent! While I'm at it, I have a second favour to ask of you. Could you recruit more fighters? I bet there will be willing volunteers, if you're the one inviting them. I'll set off on my own, and meet up with you there."

Byleth nodded and with that Felix left the room then she did to ask the rest of her students.

\-----

Byleth was able to convince many to come with her to this mission and she arrived seeing Felix who looked relieved when she came. He kept giving his father whom was struggling against the bandits, a look that showed how disgusted he was of him.

Felix even made a comment about it. "Hmph. Struggling to defeat some bandits? What a pathetic old man my father is."

He shook his head and looked at Byleth. He alerted her the main problem they should prioritise. "Some villagers are trapped. Let's help them escape." 

Rodrigue spotted them and threw out a sigh in relief. "Felix, my son. You've finally brought reinforcements!"

There was a commander that may get all the bandits to leave if they took him down but... the villagers' lives were in danger.

So Byleth did exactly what Felix suggested. Saving the villagers' lives instead of taking down the commander the main priority.

She had everyone spread out in the area. She left Sylvain, Ingrid, Dedue, Flayn & Dorothea take care of near where entrance areas. She had herself, Felix, Mercedes, Annette, Dimitri & Ashe take care of where Rodrigue was because thats where the most of the villagers and bandits were.

Rordigue spoke to the villagers. "Everything will be fine! Good people of this hamlet, escape while you can!" 

When they did get closer, Annette and Mercedes worked as a team with their magic to clear out the bandits thus saving some of the villagers' lives.

While Byleth was going pass Rodrigue, he exchanged some words with her. "So, it's you! From the Officers Academy. Thank you for taking such good care of my son. It pains me to trouble you, but I humbly request your assistance in helping to secure the villagers' safe escape!"

Byleth nodded and then they both attacked the bandits nearby them.

One of the bandits charged up behind Ingrid but Sylvain was quick to save the day by throwing a javelin through the bandit, instantly killing them.

"Aren't I the best Ingrid?" Sylvain smirked at her.

Ingrid sighed. "Now's not the time to be bragging Sylvain."

Sylvain laughed at that but then they continued to fight alongside one another. With Sylvain swinging his lances and Ingrid being able to do types of sneak attacks with her pegasus.

However there was something very off. 

The bandit in the fortress part of the area seems to be looking a bit stressed.

It seemed like that bandit was calling reinforcements and Byleth was not oblivious to that. She commanded Sylvain, Ingrid & Dorothea (because they were the closest to there) to go after them so the reinforcements don't arrive.

They followed her orders.

Dorothea did a thunder spell on the bandit. It didn't kill him but it was a bad injury.

"Ingrid, Sylvain now!" Dorothea gave them the signal for them to finish him off.

So they did. Ingrid attacked in front by swinging her lance at the bandit while Sylvain swung his own lance at the bandit from behind. Killing him off.

Felix seemed disgusted at the bandit. "Weakling. That should put a stop to their reinforcements."

Dedue & Flayn had successfully taken out many of the remaining bandits that had them surrounded.

Byleth then took out the other stronghold.

This relieved Rodrigue. "The stronghold is ours. No more bandits should come crawling out of here."

Then Felix started running past Rodrigue but was stopped himself when he saw Rodrigue. He had a few words to say to his old man. "Pathetic. Struggling to defeat some ragtag bandits."

Rodrigue accepted those words but still responded to that comment. "Felix... You may know this already, but no matter how many you kill, more always appear. Anywhere in the Kingdom these days you can see the same kind of scenes. His Majesty, the late king would despair to see it."

"A dead man doesn't despair. Besides, let's focus on the living."

They both remained quiet after that comment and continued to focus on wiping out the remaining six bandits.

They were scattered around the top left of the area. They were no longer close to the villagers.

While Rodrigue tried to go there, he saw Dimitri and was surprised to see him. 

He spoke to him before he went there while Byleth and the others went straight there. "Oh, Prince Dimitri is here to help! I am humbled, Your Highness, and so sorry to trouble you."

Dimitri shook his head. "No, it is fine. As a man of royal birth, this is the obvious course. However, it does not exactly seem like they are remnants of Miklan's faction."

"Indeed. Nothing but common bandits, and yet... Ruffians like that have recently surged in number."

Dimitri nodded. "I am aware. For now, let us focus on saving the villagers."

They both made there way to where Byleth, Felix, Annette, Mercedes, Ashe and the other kingdom soldiers were. At the main commander.

Rodrigue and Dimitri helped them all finally defeat the commander. They took him down quickly.

Rodrigue sighed in relief when they took the commander down. "That should do it. We've chased those ruffians away for good."

A villager girl appeared and seemed very grateful to be saved. "Thank you so much for your assistance!"

Rodrigue went to Felix and Byleth privately. 

He was very happy about the help that Byleth provided. "We are grateful for your help. I doubt those bandits will stop any time soon. But at least this village is safe."

He added another statement. "This village was important to the late king. If we hadn't saved it, I wouldn't have been able to face His Majesty."

Then Byleth sensed something.

Not something good. She sensed a negative vibe from someone after Rodrigue made that statement. 

She sensed it from Felix. 

That statement angered him to hear and so he spoke his mind. "How foolish."

Rodrigue didn't expect to hear that comment. "Pardon?"

Felix clarified. "We were protecting your subjects, not your ego. _**I don't give a damn as to whether you can bring yourself to face a dead king.**_ "

Now it was Rodrigue's turn to be angry. "I will not tolerate such language from you."

Felix continued the argument despite knowing that Byleth was there. He didn't care if she could hear what they were saying. "I came here to hone my blade, and to save innocent people. I supposed if I had died, _ **you would say the same thing you did after Glenn's death. "He died like a true knight."**_ "

Rodrigue said nothing and Byleth didn't blame him. 

Felix couldn't be bothered with Rodrigue anymore. "I have nothing more to say. I'm going back." 

Felix left both Byleth and Rodrigue and made his own trip back. Byleth was going to follow him but...

Rodrigue apologised and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. He's been that way for four years now. Of course, I understand his sentiment, to some extent. It all comes down to... Well, a difference of opinion."

Byleth slightly smiled at Rodrigue and nodded. "I understand Felix as well."

Rodrigue smiled back. "So, that's how you feel about it. How fortunate Felix is to have met someone like you. There's nothing as heartening as having someone around who really understands you."

Before Byleth could say anything, Rodrigue took a bow before he continued speaking. "He's an odd boy. Thick-headed in some ways. But he's my son all the same. I'm glad he has you to look after him."

\-----


	45. Tales of the Red Canyon (Paralogue)

\-----

Pre timeskip, Takes place after chapter nine and before chapter ten. Beginning of part takes place on the morning of the eighteenth of the Guardian Moon. Takes place after "An Expression" part. References "Heartbreaking tears..." part and references when Byleth reads Jeralt's diary.

\-----

_Byleth would normally spend her free days exploring in the monastery._

However, she just never did that anymore. She was still in grief and didn't want to talk to anyone except for four certain people.

One of these people being her father. She wanted to talk to him again. She wanted him to be alive again. She wish she could save him from such a cruel fate but... she couldn't...

Another person she wants to talk to is Rhea but she knows that would be pointless. Her trust for Rhea went down majorly after reading that diary of Jeralt's. She desperately wanted to interrogate Rhea but... there was no point. Rhea hides everything and Byleth knew that she shouldn't even try to talk to her about it.

The third person she'd like to speak to is... her. Monica. Well perhaps, talk wouldn't be the right word. She wanted Monica to pay. Just Monica. Just Monica needed to pay for what she had done. 

The one other person she has been talking to this entire moon and wanted to continue doing so was Sothis. It didn't matter where or when, she was always comforting Byleth since then. 

So she wanted to spend this free day in her room, just to talk to Sothis the whole day. It was oddly comforting.

So, Byleth continued to sleep in the morning. She knew Sothis would be there in her dreams.

And she was. Sothis was in the green throne room again. She wasn't sitting on the throne this time, she was just standing around. Byleth was ready to talk to her again.

However, Sothis had something on her mind and Byleth wasn't oblivious to this. 

Sothis spoke her mind without realising it. _"Hmmm... What was that name again?"_

"What's on your mind?" Byleth asked.

Sothis slightly sighed before she spoke again. _"Oh, this is frustrating me to no end! I simply can't recall."_

She then realised what she was trying to figure out. _"Oh, I have it! Zanado!"_

Byleth looked slightly puzzled but spoke regardless. "Zanado, the Red Canyon?"

Sothis seemed pleased. _"That's it! It was not long ago that we were there... And still, I somehow managed to forget!"_

Byleth still looked a bit puzzled. "What about it?"

_"Well... That place brought back some fragments of my memory. I cannot help but wonder why. I feel we must return to find some answers there."_

Byleth didn't really want to leave where she was but... She feels as if she owes Sothis this. She might even be able to find out some information about herself. While it was unlikely she'd find out why she has no heartbeat and what exactly Rhea had done to her, it was still worth a try. 

"Let's go." Byleth nodded.

Sothis had a smile on her face. _"Yes, you are right! For as the saying goes, there is no time like the present."_

Byleth immediately woke up right after. Sothis appeared behind her.

Byleth stared down at the ground for a bit when she realised something.

Sothis crossed her arms. _"What on earth are you doing?"_

Byleth looked back at Sothis. "I won't tell anyone about going there, especially Rhea. They... will probably stop me from trying to go there."

Sothis frowned when Byleth pointed that out. _"Hmm... That is a fair point. Try to be quick when leaving the monastery without looking suspicious."_

Byleth nodded.

She got dressed and left her room. It felt a bit awkward to leave her room like this in the late morning but that wasn't really the main problem for her at the moment.

There were many people including the church staff nearby the greenhouse which meant she had to leave by going through the reception hall and then to the entrance hall.

She went up and made her way there.

When she was between the classrooms and the reception hall, she could see Seteth talking to some of Golden Deer students for some reason. 

Byleth quickly walked into the reception hall.

Byleth took a quick sigh of relief but she did it too early.

Sothis realised that there were some students in the room. Yuri, Annette and Dorothea.

They spotted her walking in the room. 

Sothis warned her. _"You may want to stay alert, some of your delinquents are also in this room and saw you."_

"Wait what?" Byleth mumbled.

"Professor!" Dorothea yelled out and walked over to her with Yuri & Annette close behind.

_"Too late... This what happens if you don't stay alert, you fool!"_ Sothis rolled her eyes.

Byleth turned towards them all.

"I'm so happy to see you today! Are you feeling alright?" Annette asked.

"Um... Yeah, I'm ok." Byleth remained emotionless just like she had been for the most of this month.

Annette frowned. She could tell she wasn't really telling the truth. "Your... not just saying that are you? You still look a bit pale... We've all been so worried about you!

Yuri joined in. "She's not wrong, we have been worried about you. Especially His Lordship, he wouldn't shut up about how worr- Er.... not the point. Just, you know take care of yourself and that."

Dorothea frowned at him. "That wasn't very reassuring Yuri. Also when you say 'His Lordship', are you referring to Dimitri." 

"Perhaps."

Byleth shook her head. "I'm fine, really. Thanks for worrying about me. I must say It's a bit unexpected to see you outside of Abyss today Yuri."

Yuri spoke with a smirk. "Ah... Yeah, I went to grab some food but... Dorothea and Annette wanted to talk with me because they find me very amazing."

Dorothea frowned at Yuri. "Erm.. Yurikins... Might not want to-" 

Byleth changed the subject. "Ah I see... Well regardless, I'll see you all later?"

Byleth started walking towards the entrance hall.

"Wait Professor!" Annette tried to stop her but Byleth pretended to not hear what Annette said and just kept walking.

Dorothea, Yuri and Annette were a bit confused on what Byleth was doing exactly.

Regardless, Byleth went into the entrance hall and was relieved that no church staff was there either.

Dimitri and Dedue on the other hand were there but Byleth decided to purposely keep her distance and not even look at them.

Dimitri and Dedue on the other hand did look at her and noticed her behaviour.

Byleth could tell that they were looking at her but she still ignored them as she finally left the monastery.

Dimitri and Dedue gave each other a look then looked back at the direction Byleth went. Dimitri had a bad feeling in his stomach that there is something wrong.

Dimitri slightly frowned. "It is most unlike our professor to go wandering alone like that..."

Dedue looked back at Dimitri. "Curious, Your Highness?"

Dimitri's bad feeling started to get worse. "Yes, I have an uneasy feeling about this. Let's gather the others and find out what is going on."

Dedue nodded and with that they went to gather most of the students

Luckily for them both, they weren't far apart from where they were.

\-----

Byleth found herself quite far in the in Red Canyon. In the area when she and the students defeated Kostas many, many months ago. When times were far more simple.

Neither Byleth nor Sothis realised that they were being followed by the students: Dimitri, Dedue, Sylvain, Ingrid, Ashe, Yuri, Felix, Annette, Dorothea, Mercedes & Raphael from a bit of a far distance.

Sothis finally spoke. _"Yes... It is all coming back to me. This structure..."_

Sothis sighed. _"Oh, but it's as though my memories are clouded. The most important pieces are obscured. But I once called this home. I have no doubt. I seem to recall something... on the other side of that wall. I cannot see it, but I can still feel it... It is not my imagination. I know this to be true. We are already deep within this valley..."_

Before Byleth could ask anything, a sudden noise came out of nowhere.

"Grrrraargh!"

Both Byleth and Sothis were startled by this. 

Sothis was the first to say something. _"Oh! What was that awful sound?!"_

"It was a terrible scream." Byleth frowned.

_"Yes. And that was not a normal beast, but a huge and terrifying one! Look! There! At the entrance of the valley...a giant shadow!"_

She saw the shadow. There was a demon beast at where she was before. There also looked like there were some people there but she assumed it was her imagination. It would make no sense for someone else to be here at this time.

She heard another roar.

"Graaargh!"

Sothis started to get more worried. _"What is it now?!"_

Byleth looked around. There were beasts everywhere! She was surrounded by three wolf demonic beasts and there were even more around the area.

Sothis frowned. _"Those hungry wolves... That howl must have riled them up. We have no choice but to fight our way out. Give it your all!"_

She was worried and nervous. There were more and more demon beasts appearing. She was surrounded by wolves, there were hawks around the rear and worst of all, a huge demonic beast at the main canyon mouth.

Oddly though, it looked like the hawk beasts and the huge demonic beast were actually focusing on something else but Byleth didn't have the time to focus on them. She needed to get rid of the wolves surrounding her if she wanted to make it out alive.

However, she wasn't sure if she could do it. She slightly wished she didn't come her alone but that was the consequence she most likely will end up with. 

Byleth tried to figure out a way to get out of this situation. Killing the demonic beast most likely will end it all but that's absolutely impossible considering she'll need to deal with the wolves first.

She made her first move on the wolf beast that was around the west part of the area she was in. It might be better for her to take that one down.

She was still worried and so was Sothis. Byleth wasn't sure if she could survive this one. If she doesn't live then... how will she get Monica to pay for her actions? Pay for what she had done to her father? She wanted revenge on Monica more than anything...

She aimed at the wolf demonic beast. She wasn't entirely close to killing it but she most likely will win.

Byleth didn't notice that one of the wolf demonic beasts behind her suddenly was taken down. She didn't even see that the other one was starting charge up towards her simply because she had forgotten all about the other one.

She and the wolf demonic beast had a slightly long fight but Byleth was victorious. 

However, she was almost too late. There was a demonic wolf beast charging up right at her.

Byleth turned around only to see that the beast's claws were about the hit her.

She was ready to use divine pulse until the beast was interrupted by some random fire.

Or... fire magic. It looked like Bolganoe magic...

It looked like a spell that Annette, Mercedes or Dorothea would use but... there was no way.

Then a blonde haired man came in and swung his lance at the wolf. It didn't kill it yet but it was almost dead. Then a dark blue long haired man and a bright blonde long haired woman stepped in and swung their weapons at the wolf, killing it immediately.

Byleth then could clearly see their faces, after the beast was taken down.

She was.. shocked. The one who swung his lance was Dimitri, the one who did the spell was Mercedes, the others who helped kill the beast was Felix and Ingrid.

_"Wha? How did they get here?"_ Sothis finally spoke.

Byleth had so many questions. She was grateful but... she had no absolutely no idea that...

"Dimitri?! Mercedes?! What- What are you all doing here?"

Dimitri ignored that question, clearly worried about her almost getting a fatal injury. "Professor! Are you hurt?"

Byleth shook her head. "No... Uh you took down the beast before he hurt me. Thank you but... How did you know...?"

Felix crossed his arms. "We'll explain later! We need to focus on not getting killed here!"

Sothis was shocked herself but she agreed. _"My my, he sure is rude but he's not wrong. For now, let's focus on taking down the rest of these beasts!"_

Byleth nodded and so did everyone else that heard Felix.

There were more demonic beasts on the way to where Byleth was so they needed to immediately go the demonic beast in the canyon mouth to stop this. Byleth from there on, commanded them.

They made their way to where the hawks and main demonic beast was.

The hawks defended the main demonic beast.

Byleth got Annette, Dedue, Felix, Ingrid, Dorothea & Ashe to take care of them while the rest focused on the main demonic beast.

It was a hard fight but they took them down quicker with the way they cooperated.

When the demonic beast was taken down, the remaining wolves and the hawks ran.

Sothis let out a huge sigh. _"Our work is done? My, my... Things did not go as planned. Let us leave, before any more hawks and wolves join us. But what was that Demonic Beast doing within the Red Canyon..."_

\-----

Byleth felt ridiculous. She honestly couldn't believe she made it that obvious she was up to something. It felt so stupid.

Dimitri was certainly concerned. "Professor, I am so glad that you are unharmed. What if something had happened to you?"

Dedue alerted Dimitri. "Your Highness, our instructor is safe. We should return to the monastery once."

"Yes, I suppose you are right. If we stay here much longer, we are sure to be reprimanded."

"It is not untrue to assert that our professor led us here for battle experience."

Dimitri frowned. "Dedue, you surprise me! And you, Professor. I hope you will tell us what brought you here..."

Byleth didn't really react. She just kept that emotionless expression again. "Thank you so much for helping me out back there. I... can't say I would've survived out there. I hate to ask you another favour but could you and everyone else not mention about this... er.. situation to anybody especially Rhea? I'd... rather them to not know....."

There was a bit of a pause. Dimitri's frown fell slightly when he finally said something. "Ok, we won't as long as you promise to be more careful from now on, ok?"

"I promise." Byleth lied.

They made their way back to the monastery, all agreeing to never bring this time up ever again. 

Byleth couldn't help but wish that she could... tell them the truth. On why she came here in the first place. About sothis. Everything.

But who in their right minds would believe ' _I have a talking young girl in my mind who has no memories and she asked me to take her here. I have the power to time travel back in time. I also have no heartbeat for some reason and Rhea may have something to do with it somehow.'_

Literally no one would believe that... except maybe Rhea but.. That's a completely different story and she'd pretend to know nothing anyways.

_She hopes she could tell maybe... at least Dimitri about Sothis, Her lack of a heartbeat and/or Divine Pulse someday..._

_She wish she talked more about Sothis to Jeralt._

_Maybe he would've believed her._

_**But... Thanks to Monica, It's too late now...** _

\-----


	46. White Heron Cup

\-----

Pre timeskip, after chapter 8 and before chapter 9. Takes place before "The Prince's Birthday" part, "Wonders of the Future" part & "Heartbreaking tears.." part. Takes place after "A Dance Representative" part, "An Interest" part, "Washing Dishes" part & "Bernadetta's Birthday Presents & Smiles" part. Takes place on the sixteenth of the Ethereal moon which is also the same day that the White Heron Cup/dance competition takes place on. Takes place at the evening but references what happens in the morning and takes place in the Reception Hall. Sort of references Yuri and Dorothea's supports with one another. Based on the White Heron Cup/dance competition (Tip: you may want to read "An Interest" and "A Dance Representative" because this part will be hard to follow otherwise. ) 

\-----

_It was the evening and the White Heron Cup will start not long from now._

Byleth was in the reception hall with Dimitri and other Blue Lion students.

However Dorothea, Mercedes, Annette and Petra were absent because they were helping Dorothea getting ready. Mercedes, Petra and Annette were most likely trying to help her get ready.

Hapi was also absent because she didn't want to be on the surface. Byleth will make sure that she will be here when the Ball arrives though. 

Edelgard recently arrived and she was with the rest of the black eagles except for Bernadetta and Ferdinand. Claude was yet to get here though.

Edelgard walked towards where Byleth and Dimitri were.

Byleth was the first to say anything. "Hello Edelgard, is your dancer getting ready?"

Edelgard frowned when she remembered who it was dancing for her class. "I... I hope that's what they are doing. Not that I think we will lose but... He may have not been the wisest choice."

Dimitri was surprised to hear that. "Oh? Edelgard, I assumed you would be the dancer for your house since your amazing at it and seem to really like dancing."

Both Byleth and Edelgard gave Dimitri a confused look on how he knew that. Edelgard was the first to speak. "Er.. yes that's true but how did you know that I liked dancing? Did I.. Did I tell you that.. or...?"

Dimitri looked a bit hurt by that comment. It seemed like she didn't remember that either... or anything about back then.

Byleth still was confused on what was going on.

"Ah... Well um... You brought it up one occasion, If I recall." He lied.

Edelgard was now surprised instead of confused. "Hmm.. Must've forgotten that I had done so. Well, you are correct about that Dimitri, you seem to have much better memory than I do. Anyways it's true I would normally sign up for this but I just simply wasn't chosen for the house. The one who did get chosen I assumed begged to be chosen because he always wants to be better than me at everything."

As Edelgard sighed, Byleth spoke. "Oh is it Ferdinand that's dancing for your class?"

"Heh. I guess I made that unintentionally obvious when I said that last part. Yes it is."

Before Byleth could say anything else, Claude and the Golden Deer students arrived.

Claude walked towards Byleth, Edelgard and Dimitri and casually joins in their conversation.

"Are his Princeliness and her Royalness debating on who will win?" He grinned.

Byleth frowned. "Erm... I guess you could say that?"

Edelgard frowned at Claude. "I hope you don't have any schemes planned at a time like this."

Claude chuckled nervously obviously on purpose. "Who me? Nah. Why would I scheme during a dance competition? Do you think I'm a scheming monster or something?"

Nobody said anything. All three of them stared at him with a face that basically said _"Do you think we are stupid?"_ all over it.

Claude laughed at their silence.

Both Lorenz and Ferdinand walked in the room. It seemed like they were ready and very confident in himself. 

"Ah it seems Lorenz is ready." Claude saw him. 

Byleth spoke. "So Lorenz is the dancer for your house Claude?"

"Yeah and I'm guessing her Royalness has Ferdinand as the dancer for her house?"

Edelgard nodded and then turned towards Byleth and Dimitri. "Yep. What about you? Where's your dancer?"

Byleth frowned. "It seems like she isn't ready yet."

"Well you may want to-"

"Professor!" Edelgard got interrupted by a familiar voice.

They all turned towards to where the voice came from. It was from Mercedes. She was with Petra, Annette and Dorothea. She was waving and letting both Byleth and Dimitri know that Dorothea is ready.

Alois finally made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen! My sincerest apologies for the wait!" 

Claude alerted Lorenz. "Hey Lorenz you may want to prepare yourself. The competition is about to start."

Lorenz rolled his eyes. "Yes Claude, I already know that I need to prepare, I am not a fool. Honestly, do you take me as one?"

"Do you really want the answer to that question?" Claude teased.

"Urgh... Just be quiet for the rest of the competition."

Alois kept his announcement going. "Thank you for gathering here on the eve of the highly anticipated ball to bear witness to... The academy-wide dance competition! Welcome to the White Heron Cup!"

Everyone in the room cheered. 

Alois continued his announcement. "The competition will be judged by ...me! Your humble servant, Alois Rangeld! And also... The acclaimed former songstress of the Mittelfrank Opera Company, Manuela Casagranda!"

Everyone cheered for Manuela as she spoke. "Yes, yes, thank you. Oh, and it should go without saying, but I swear to show no bias to my own house. Got it? Good."

"Last but not least, the glamorous assassin who does all of her dancing in the dead of night... Shamir Nevrand!"

Everyone cheered for Shamir even though she didn't say much. "Hmph."

Alois kept talking. "The three of us swear on our honour to judge the following proceedings with utmost impartiality and fairness! And with that, will the representatives of each house please make their way to the stage!"

Everyone went in the side to watch while Ferdinand, Dorothea and Lorenz went near the judges to perform.

Ferdinand said something to Dorothea as he said that. "Hey Dorothea, If I win, can you tell me why you hate me?"

Dorothea frowned at him. "You say as if you know your going to win."

"Well I am an excellent dancer."

Lorenz looks at Dorothea and Ferdinand like they were idiots. "Don't be fools you two. I'm obviously going to win this competition."

"Ha! We'll see about that!" Dorothea smirked in a competitive type of way.

Alois continued talking. "Contestants! Are you ready to dance? And is the band prepared to play?"

Everyone nodded.

"Very well... BEGIN!"

They all danced. Ferdinand and Lorenz were certainly good dancers but Dorothea.. was fantastic.

After some time, Alois ended the competition. "TIME! That's all folks!"

Alois grinned "Splendid! All three of you were fantastic! Now, let's hear what the judges have to say..."

Manuela seemed a bit puzzled. "Oh my, let's see. I suppose I have no choice but to vote for..."

She took a breath and spoke again. "The Blue Lion House. Your performance was exhilarating. My heart is still beating a mile a minute."

Now it was Shamir's turn to vote. "I vote for..."

Shamir builds a bit of suspense before she finishes her sentence. "The Golden Deer House. Decisive movements. Nothing wasted."

Ferdinand had a huge frown on his face and so did Edelgard. It was obvious that the Black Eagle house didn't win this one.

Alois spoke. "Great feedback, both of you! Well then, let's see... Factoring in my own humble opinion... Yes! We have a winner! And I will announce who it is...right now! Without any delay! The winner of this year's White Heron Cup is..."

Alois announced it. "The Blue Lion House!"

Everyone clapped for Dorothea especially Byleth, Mercedes and Annette.

"I wonder if I can use this to bolster my singing career..." Dorothea clearly expected to win.

Alois spoke once again. "Once more, please give a round of applause for our talented participants!"

More and more people cheered and clapped for Dorothea. 

Everyone congratulated her.

Byleth had no doubt that Dorothea would win that.

\-----


	47. The Unknown Flames

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter 8 and takes place before chapter 9. Takes place before "A Dance Representative" part, "An Interest" part, "Washing dishes" part, "Bernadetta's Birthday Presents & Smiles" part, "White Heron Cup" part, "The Prince's birthday" part, "Wonders of the future" part & "Heart breaking tears" part. Takes place a few days after the Remire Village mission and is mainly about it. Takes place on the second of the month/Ethereal Moon. Foreshadows a LOT of events that take place later. The location Byleth is in for this part is in the training grounds.

\-----

_The last mission got Byleth thinking a lot._

It was a devastating mission and one that nobody could of ever predicted. 

However she also found out something she didn't expect.

When she first met Dimitri, she sensed darkness within and she didn't really know why.

But now she has a hint on why. 

Dimitri acted unusual in that mission and Byleth wasn't oblivious to that. Normally he'd hesitate in killing anyone but... He was very desperate to do so this time.

After the mission, He told her a lot. All about what happened on The Tragedy of Duscur and the flames he witnessed from it. 

And is true reason in joining the officers academy. 

One reason, one word.

_**Revenge...** _

Byleth wasn't sure if she was surprised or not about that reason.

Dimitri was kind, polite and always put others before himself. He was always hesitant to kill people and was always disgusted in those who take pleasure killing...

But on the other hand... Byleth always did sense something odd with Dimitri. She sensed darkness within when they first met even. She doesn't doubt that the person he is right now, is his true personality but she also doesn't doubt that he has another one too... 

Then again, Byleth wasn't one to talk. She used to be a completely different person when she came to the monastery. She never showed any emotion and didn't really see the point in socialising that much. 

However that wasn't true anymore. When she came to the monastery, she was always invited by her students (Dimitri the most) to events and she accepted them willingly because she was curious. She didn't expect that she would end up enjoying these events and she showed her emotions way more as time went on. She never knew how important it was to do so. 

It is quite ironic to think that she used to be emotionless and antisocial all the time because she is now the one who invites everyone else to events and always seems to show her expressions a lot more than most. Both Jeralt and Dimitri even mentioned this on a few occasions. 

It was like she was a completely different person and... she liked that new person. She wanted to continue being that new person because it felt like it truly was who she is. It felt right, normal and it sat well with her. She never knew before that side of her even existed but she knew now. Though she wasn't going to stop acknowledging the emotionless side of her either but the person she is right now was truly her.

She thinks that her students had something to do with that. She was internally grateful to them... Dimitri the most because she feels like he had the most to do with it.

Although she had no idea why she thinks Dimitri had the most to do with it. That's just how she feels about it. 

Regardless she was happy at where she was right now. Despite being the professor, she learned something important from her students about friendship and that helped her grow into the truly happy person she was now. 

But this month really had her thinking thoughts she never would of thought before.

Byleth was certainly angry when doing that mission and that was the first time she felt so angry. She wondered if she would had felt the same before. Of course, she wouldn't be thrilled about what happened to Remire Village before but would she have been as angry as she was? 

That wasn't all either...

She wasn't close with Tomas but she didn't expect him to betray the church or "Solon" or whatever his true name was. 

And the Death Knight... She was always confused by that one. He always took pleasure in fighting her and only her.

But also the Flame Emperor? What was up with him? Who on earth is he? How did he know so much about everything that happened... or about Byleth even?

And everyone's interest in revenge? She has no idea what that feels like. She never really lost someone she loved before... Other than her mother but... She didn't even know her...

Byleth just kept thinking and thinking of questions while she just stood randomly in the training grounds.

She heard some voices and footsteps getting closer but paid no mind to it.

"You don't understand El, the plan was necessary!"

"Don't call me El and it- Professor?"

Byleth looked behind quickly to see who it was that just arrived. The word "Professor" seemed to have snapped her out of her thoughts.

It was Edelgard and Monica.

"Oh wow Professor. What are you doing here?" Monica seemed a bit shocked.

"Er... I was just... I guess I was thinking thoughts. What are you guys doing here?" Byleth bit her lip.

Monica frowned and struggled to say something. Edelgard spoke for her. "Monica demanded for me to help her train again..."

"Oh, I'll stay out of your way then... But um.. Do you mind if I ask something?"

Monica tried not to do a death stare. Thankfully for her, Byleth didn't notice it. 

Edelgard sighed. "Um... I don't mind."

"Ok well... Have either of you wanted to... get revenge on someone?"

They both stared at her. They clearly weren't expecting her to ask that of all things which had them all silent for a bit.

"Kind of? Why do you ask my teacher? Does it have anything to do with that mission you had?" Edelgard broke the silence.

Byleth frowned. "Well um... a bit. Some people seem to have interest in getting revenge on someone for something they did. I'm just a bit curious on how that feels I suppose."

Monica jumped in. "Ok well I'll help you. Imagine this."

Byleth looked at Monica. Edelgard shoots Monica a glare but she ignored it and continued. "Not saying it will happen but what if the enemy kills... let's say your father? In front of you too?"

Byleth shook her head. "That... probably won't happen."

Monica looked a bit mischievous but Byleth didn't see it. "I literally said that it probably wont happen. It's just an imagine if it does happen you silly professor. How would you feel?"

Byleth bit her lip. She wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't know... I... wouldn't really know unless it happens."

"Well, as someone who wanted to get revenge on someone else for something they did, I can surely say you feel furious at that one who did it and may take pleasure in killing them. Sadly though I haven't gotten my revenge."

"Who do you want to get revenge on?" Byleth couldn't resist asking.

"Ah... Professor B- Erm..." Monica realised something as she said that.

She did a cough that sounded a bit fake. "Um.. Professor Jeritza! Yeah! Because uh... He is the death knight and he kidnapped me! I'm surprised that um.. I'm alive."

Edelgard glared at her and Byleth was a bit suspicious about that statement.

Something was so off about it but it did kind of make sense considering she had been captured for who knows how long.

Byleth shrugged it off. "Well uh... If you want revenge on them, then um... I guess I wish you luck?"

Monica gave her a look. She looked like she was going to laugh. "Thank you Professor. Means a lot to me."

"Anyways Professor... Um.."

Byleth realised she was supposed to leave. "Oh! Yeah right! Sorry... Have fun I guess?"

"Thanks..." Edelgard frowned.

She seemed to have started scolding Monica about something when they thought she left entirely.

Byleth could sort of hear them but it was very brief and she didn't really listen.

_"....don't.....kill......"_

That's all she could heard. Sounded like Edelgard's voice.

She really didn't really know what they were talking nor did she care.

As she was walking back to her quarters, she was stopped by someone.

"Hey Professor!"

Byleth snapped out of her thoughts again. The person who was talking to her was Mercedes.

Mercedes had a curious look on her face. "I hope you don't mind me asking but, have you chosen someone for the White Heron Cup?"

Byleth completely forgot about that. She shook her head.

"I see... Well, I'll do it if you can't find anyone. Well, I'll see you later Professor!"

Mercedes left and Byleth started to think about what Mercedes mentioned.

She needed to get more details on what she mainly needed about the White Heron Cup. 

\-----


	48. Admired Sword Fighter

**Warning: This part will make no sense unless you've read "Swordsmanship Learning" part because the children from that part return again (Also Reminder that, Elise is eight while the other two kids are 11-12).**

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place after chapter six and before chapter seven. Takes place after "Joke telling" part. Takes place before "The Jealous Prince" part, "Sitri & Flowers" part, "The Forgotten" part, "Rumoured Nuptials" part, "Sword and Shield of Seiros" part and "The Grand Feast" part. Takes place on the sixth of the Wyvern Moon, sometime in the late afternoon. Reference to Alois and Petra's B support. 

\-----

_At some point in the afternoon, Byleth found herself wandering around in the monastery._

There wasn't much to do but then all of a sudden, Petra kind of showed up out of nowhere... again.

"Hello Professor!"

It startled Byleth a little. She didn't expect something so sudden. Regardless, she turned around to see Petra.

"Oh Petra Hello! Sorry I didn't realise you were there for a second."

"Oh? Is it bothering?"

Byleth shook her head. "No, not at all. It's fine. Was there something I could help you with?"

Petra smiled. "Yes! I was hoping you had time to spare for some... sparring?"

Petra sounded like she struggled a bit trying to say that but Byleth paid no mind to it. "Right now? Ok! Sure, I have some time! Should we start heading to the training grounds then?"

Petra looked excited and cheerfully nodded. "Yes, I would be liking that greatly."

They both started to make their way to the training grounds.

\-----

Meanwhile a few minutes later, it seemed like both Byleth and Petra were still sparring but Dimitri was in the stables and helping Ingrid and Mercedes with the horses for quite some time. 

It was fairly quiet for a while until the three of them heard some bickering.

"Cain! I want to learn from her again!"

"Elise, calm down."

"No!"

"Why do you like seeing her fight so much!?"

Dimitri, Ingrid and Mercedes looked at each other all confused when they heard these childlike voices.

Dimitri thought these voices sounded familiar though but he ignored that feeling. 

"Is there someone else here?" Mercedes asked.

The bickering continued. 

"I want to learn from her and only her! Please!"

"We're not saying you can't but she's probably busy. No one has even seen her anyway."

"But! But..!"

Mercedes spotted where those voices were coming from. 

She pointed at them from a bit far away. "Aren't those the same children you and the professor taught once Dimitri?"

Dimitri looked at where she was pointing at. He saw three familiar children and then recognised who they were. Alea, Cain and Elise. Three of the five kids he taught swordsmanship to a couple of times. 

"It seems so. Sorry, may I check on them?"

They both nodded and with that Dimitri went over to them.

"Is there something I could help you all with?"

All three of the kids looked at them. They seemed relieved.

"Oh I'm glad to see you Prince." Cain sighed in relief.

Alea cut straight to the point. "Elise really wants to see Teacher fight again. You know like that time when you and her trained those moons ago? We have no clue why she does though, she doesn't really explain it well..."

Elise looked mad. "Hmph. Well I like watching her fight. I want to be a good sword fighter like that someday!"

It was honestly kind of adorable to see Elise admire Byleth like this but Dimitri doesn't really admit this.

Alea rolled her eyes. "Anyways do you know where she is?"

Dimitri thought to himself for a bit but he realised he hadn't seen her for a while. He shook his head. "My apologies but I haven't seen her for a while."

They all looked disappointed. "Awww..." Elise especially looked disappointed.

Mercedes joined in the conversation. "I know where she is! She is actually sparring with Petra in the training grounds!" 

The kids eyes lit up.

"Where? I don't want to miss that!" Elise looked desperate.

"It is the same place we trained in before a couple months back actually. Would you like me to take you all there?"

Dimitri then realised what he was doing before but Mercedes smiled at him and reassured him that they were all almost finished with the horses anyway.

"Sorry about this...." Alea looked down with a frown. Her words didn't sound very sincere though.

Dimitri noticed that tone of hers but he shrugged it off. "It's ok. I really don't mind. Though Merce-"

Mercedes cut him off and shook her head. "I told you it's ok! You've done enough for us anyways."

Dimitri thanked her and swore to himself that he would somehow pay her back for this favour.

He guided the kids to the training grounds.

\-----

Mercedes certainly wasn't wrong about Byleth sparring with Petra in the Training Grounds.

They were very focused in the sparring match that they didn't even notice that the children were there.

Alea and Cain looked incredibly shocked rather than amazed unlike Elise.

Oh and did Elise look amazed. It was like she was seeing the most fantastic thing ever. 

It was very obvious she looked up to Byleth. Well... Dimitri couldn't blame her really, she was pretty fantastic at swordsmanship.

Byleth quickly won the match which earned her applause. Dimitri didn't even realise that he was also watching them train until he heard the applause.

Cain and Alea looked nervous and even a bit frightened.

Elise though, she was so excited. 

Byleth and Petra finally realised that the children and Dimitri were there. They were certainly... not expecting to see them today that's for sure.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't realise we had an audience!" Petra sounded shocked though no one could really blame her.

"Oh aren't you..?" Byleth recognised them.

Elise jumped in. "You were amazing teacher! How do you that!?"

"She did that by uh... 'breaking the ice!' Huh? Was that funny?" Petra seemed proud.

Everyone stared at her. They didn't really understand what Petra meant by that.

"How does breaking ice make you a good sword fighter? Unless... you break it with your own hands or weapon?" Alea couldn't help but ask.

"..No. That's not it. Petra um... What are you talking about exactly?" Byleth didn't know how to respond.

"It's a joke! Alois taught me it. I hope it was funny."

Byleth doesn't tell her if it is funny or not but she still spoke. "That explains it... Well, I think I've had enough for the day Petra."

"Ok! Thank you Professor!"

"Wait! Can't you do another one? Please?!" Elise seemed desperate.

Byleth had a hard time trying to find an answer to respond that with. "Maybe not today but another day next moon maybe? Um... Dimitri are you free to do a sparring match sometime next moon?"

Dimitri nodded. "Yes I believe I can."

Byleth mouthed thank you and Elise was really happy. 

\----


	49. One's True Feelings Part 1/3: "The Morning of the 25th"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We are finally doing the ball/goddess tower arc. I've wanted to do this for a while but I've been scared that I'll screw it up because this arc will be filled with some of the most important parts in this book. You'll find out why soon but it is. Anyways, this arc will basically be focusing on the entire day of the 25th of Ethereal Moon which is also the same day as the ball ingame. While I will stick to the ingame original dialogue, I still will change a lot of things that didn't really happen back then. This first part of the arc will take place in the morning which is hours before the ball starts. It will focus a lot on what characters are doing in specific times etc. It will also include a foreshadowing scenes. "The Professor's Birthday" part will also make way more sense after this. The next part will be based on dancing in the ball, the goddess tower and the remaining time left after the goddess tower. Also we are close to fifty parts so I feel like it is appropriate to do this now and you guys deserve it. Let's pray that I don't screw this up... Anyways, I hope you enjoy this arc! :D

\-----

Pre time skip, takes place after chapter eight and takes place before chapter nine. Takes place after "The Unknown Flames" part, "A Dance Representative" part, "An Interest" part, "Washing Dishes" part, "Bernadetta's Birthday Presents & Smiles" part, "White Heron Cup" part, "The Prince's Birthday" part & "Wonders of the Future" part. Takes place before "Heart breaking tears" part. Takes place on the twenty fifth of the Ethereal Moon. Based on the ball and goddess tower events. References the C support between Ingrid and Annette. References B support between Dimitri and Sylvain.

\-----

_Byleth woke up due the loud knocks on her door._

"Professor! Are you here?" A familiar voice said from outside her door.

Byleth was too tired to bother trying to recognise the owner of the voice. "I'm here... Just I need to get dressed."

When she got dressed, she opened the door to see Annette, Mercedes and Ingrid. Unlike Annette and Mercedes whom had very excited expressions on their faces, Ingrid looked nervous.

Byleth didn't really know what to make of this.

"Hello Professor! Sorry! Did we wake you up?" Annette looked slightly troubled all of a sudden when she realised that.

"Sort of but It's not a big deal. Was there something you needed?" Byleth yawned a bit.

" _Well~_ " Mercedes grinned.

"We'd love to put some makeup on you for the ball tonight!" Annette cut straight to the point.

Byleth gave her a weird look. "Um... Makeup?"

Annette begged her. "Please Professor! Just can we give it a try on you!? You don't have to wear it tonight if you don't want to since you are already beautiful but... it'll be so much fun to try! Please?!"

Ingrid sighed. "It seems like they want to put makeup on us both."

Byleth slightly frowned but nodded. "Um... Just a little."

"Hooray! Thank You Professor!" Mercedes continued to smile.

Annette suddenly grabbed Byleth's arm and took her to Mercedes' room while Ingrid was slowly walking behind with Mercedes.

_Byleth wasn't sure what she got herself into but it was clear she was going to be stuck with them for hours..._

Annette waited for Mercedes and Ingrid to hurry up before she started anything. When they got there, she closed the door and asked for Byleth to sit down on the chair.

"Can I please brush you hair?" Mercedes gave Byleth a smile again but it looked a bit mischievous.

Byleth nodded. "..Ok"

So Mercedes grabbed the brush and started to gently brush her hair while Ingrid was sitting on the other chair with her eyes closed as Annette was carefully putting on some makeup on her.

The way Mercedes' brushed her hair felt oddly relaxing to Byleth so she closed her eyes too.

Mercedes started a conversation as she gently brushed Byleth's hair. "So Professor, are you excited for the ball tonight?"

Byleth opened her eyes and frowned a bit on trying to word her answer correctly. "A bit... I don't really know what I should do there when it happens."

Ingrid chuckled without trying to move her face. "Heh. I was actually more excited to do the decorations than for the ball itself but they won't allow anymore volunteers to help decorate the reception hall."

"Oh? Don't you want to dance Ingrid?" Mercedes couldn't help but ask.

"I... I don't know the first thing about dancing, If I'm being quite honest." Ingrid admits.

"What about you Professor? Are you planning on dancing?" Annette winked.

Byleth bit her lip. "I guess so? But, I don't really know who I should dance with and I doubt anyone would ask..."

Annette gave her a look and accidentally stopped doing Ingrid's makeup. "What?! Is that a joke? Of course people will ask you silly! Like... hmm."

"Are you done Annette?" Ingrid wanted to open her eyes.

Annette was startled and immediately went back to doing Ingrid's makeup. "Oh! Ingrid sorry, I got distracted there. Anyways, I know for sure that a certain someone will ask you Professor!"

Byleth got curious. "Oh? Who?"

"Try to guess." Mercedes spoke for Annette.

"Um....." Byleth didn't really know who they were referring to.

"Dimitri!" Mercedes couldn't wait anymore.

"Huh? Dimitri? Why would he want to dance with me?" Byleth didn't understand.

"Mercedes don't try to make things complicated..." Ingrid sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry.. I still cannot believe that he got jealous of Sylvain and a few others for-"

Annette cut her off. "Mercie! Maybe not mention that in front of her. Dimitri wouldn't like it!"

"Ah right! Sorry!" Mercedes giggled to herself

Byleth still didn't understand. "Dimitri got jealous of Sylvain? Why? What did Sylvain do? And a few others?"

Annette playfully frowned at Mercedes who was still giggling.

"Don't worry it's nothing. Just something that happened er... before you came to the monastery?" Mercedes lied.

"Can you tell me the story if it's that funny?" Byleth seemed curious again.

"Nope sorry Professor." Annette started to giggle a bit.

"Why not?"

"We'll tell you... someday hehe."

"Why not now?"

"Because... I think there may be a better time. Anyways, you know the legend of the Goddess tower Professor?" Annette changed the subject.

"Yes? What about it?"

"Well, it will be open tonight! Do you plan on going?"

_"That's an interesting question indeed! Are you curious about meeting a potential lover there?"_ Sothis teased her causing Byleth to get a bit embarrassed.

"Er... No I'm not curious on meeting a poten- Wait what?" Byleth realised she said that outloud confusing everyone in the room.

Sothis was laughing at her stupidity while Byleth desperately wanted to scold her more than anything.

"So you plan on meeting someone there?" Mercedes teased.

Byleth quickly shook her head. "No! I never said that."

"You kind of did actually. Don't worry we won't tell anyone except for maybe Dorothea." Annette teased.

"But I never- ugh... Do what you want Annette..."

For the remaining of the morning, Byleth (and Ingrid) found herself stuck with the two until around the afternoon...

\----- 

Meanwhile for Dimitri, his morning was quite one to deal with.

Especially with a Sylvain waking him up.

"Your Highness! Wake up! Today is the day." Sylvain continuously attempted to wake him up by knocking on the door and yelling out from there, unintentionally waking up Lorenz, Claude & Felix whose rooms were nearby. 

When Dimitri woke up, got dressed and opened the door, he saw a smirking Sylvain right in front of him. "Urgh... Sylvain why did you wake me up?"

"Heh. Isn't that obvious? Tonight is the ball! I want to see a girl on your arm, remember?"

"Sylvain you know whe-"

"Hey..."

Dimitri was cut off by someone. Both Dimitri and Sylvain suddenly got a scary vibe the moment the owner of that voice spoke. The room's door next to Dimitri's room opened and Felix who looked agitated.

"Maybe don't yell where and when people are sleeping for such a stupid reason. I'll kill you if you keep doing that you fool. It's one thing when it's a school day but for no reason like this? You will be sorry." Felix looked furious, as if he was going to kill Sylvain. He was always very... terrifying when he is rudely woken up like this.

Sylvain nervously chuckled. "Ahahaha.... Sorry Felix, I uh... will keep that in mind..."

"Seriously. This better be the last time. Do it again and you'll regret it." 

"Noted." Sylvain looked nervous while Dimitri said nothing.

Felix took a sigh and went back inside.

"We both know that he hates it when you wake him up by yelling." Dimitri face palmed.

"Hah... Not the point. Anyways, Your Highness, you better keep your promise about -"

"No. You already know how that turned out." Dimitri went to go grab his lance in his room and then headed to the training grounds.

Sylvain followed him. "Yes but remember how I helped you out after that?"

Dimitri sighed. "But why today? And you said that I don't owe you anything for that. Won't it cause trouble again?"

"But you learned your lesson, right? Just ask you know who to dance tonight..." Sylvain said in that teasing tone that Dimitri hated more than anything.

"...What? No I don't know who."

"I'm sure you do. The one you have a crush on, remember?"

"What? But I don't have a crush on anyone..."

"Fine Modest Prince. The one you've fallen in love with. Remember her?" Sylvain winked at him.

"I'm not in love with anyone ei- Oh forget it. You're just trying to annoy me, aren't you?" Dimitri was surprised he hadn't broken the lance by accident yet considering Sylvain was doing a good job at annoying him.

"Fine, fine. Since you don't want to ask The Professor to dance tonight, then I will ask her to be my date for the ball."

Dimitri finally stopped to glare at Sylvain, holding tightly to the lance. "What? Why would you ask her to- You... You just can't do that!"

"Really why not?"

"Because... Oh uh... She'll say no!"

"With my charming good looks, she'll say yes. She'll only say no if she has been asked already. Also, I'm surprised you didn't deny it this time."

Dimitri held the lance even tighter without realising it. "Just don't ask her, Sylvain please just don- wait deny what?"

Dimitri realised what he meant. "No I don't see the Professor in that way! Sylvain knock it- Ugh!"

"Did you just..?" Sylvain saw the two broken halves of the lance Dimitri was holding.

Dimitri broke the lance he was holding with one half falling on the ground and the other in his hand.

"Did you just break that lance in one hand?" Sylvain was both surprised and unsurprised.

"I... This is your fault! You shouldn't say such stupid things when I'm holding something fragile! You KNOW I can't handle carrying delicate things without breaking them."

"But... since when was a lance delicate?"

"...Sylvain just please stop acting ridiculous. I can't even dance with her first anyways. I... I have been asked already."

"Wow really? That's unexpected. I assumed you would want to dance with her first."

"Well even if I did, It's too late now. I have no intention in dancing with anyone."

"Don't you want to dance with her at all though Your Highness?"

"Yes I... Wait.. I don't know. Sylvain just... just go away." 

Sylvain winked at him. "That means I can dance with her right?"

"Sylvain just... ugh. Just stop."

Dimitri went back into his room to get another lance so he can train in the training grounds.

"Ah always a pleasure talking to you, Your Highness. I wonder if tonight can help him stop being so oblivious for once." Sylvain giggled to himself.

\-----


	50. One's True Feelings Part 2/3: "The Ball and Goddess Tower"

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter eight and takes place before chapter nine. Takes place in the evening of the same day of One's True Feelings Part 1. Recommended for you to read that one first. Also a big reference to the "Heartwarming smile" part.

\-----

_The Ball was going to start anytime now._

Byleth spent literally the entire day with Annette, Ingrid & Mercedes. Annette and Mercedes sure took their time to have fun putting on Byleth's makeup.

Despite that, Byleth ended up having very little amount of makeup because she had no interest in wearing it for this ball.

Now that it was over, it was almost time for the ball to start so they all went to the reception hall together.

When they arrived, they were pretty impressed. It was decorated wonderfully and filled with students holding drinks. None of the four even knew who more than half of the students were in the room.

"Wow! This place looks amazing! Ahhh I'm so excited." Annette squealed.

"I know! This will be so much fun!" Mercedes squealed with her friend.

Meanwhile, Ingrid's eyes were more focused on... the amount of food that was there. She looked oddly excited.

Byleth looked around with her eyes everywhere in the room. She saw everyone. Even Hapi, Felix and the knights of Seiros were there. Alois looked excited to watch the students start dancing.

However Byleth noticed that a certain someone was absent.

Actually three people were.

The house leaders!

"Hey, do you guys know where Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude are?" Byleth asked.

Ingrid quickly answered. "I don't know about Claude but from what I know Edelgard and His Highness have plans on dancing with someone else first, I'm not entirely sure why."

Byleth felt a bit disappointed but she didn't know why. Sothis noticed it too.

_"Is that disappointment I sense from you? Why is that so? Did you want to dance with the prince?"_ Sothis picked on Byleth.

Byleth shook her head as she quietly spoke back to Sothis. "Don't be an idiot Sothis."

_"Oh so you wanted to dance with the emperor instead then huh?"_ Sothis joked.

Byleth sighed as Sothis chuckled. She didn't even bother responding to that one.

Ingrid spoke again. "Well, want to grab some food with me?"

Mercedes and Annette nodded but Byleth shook her head. "I'm not too peckish. Go have fun you three."

"Ok! See you in a bit!" Mercedes smiled and then the three went over to grab some food.

Byleth chuckled to herself and kept the smile on her face. Sure Annette and Mercedes were... quite unusual today but it was always a pleasure to spend time with them and Ingrid.

The lights started to get a bit darker in the room and a lot of the students started looking towards the main entrance of the reception hall. Byleth followed their eyes and she saw that many people were walking in, including Edelgard and Dimitri.

Most people went to the side and so did Byleth so they could all watch them dance.

The people that were walking from the entrance, stopped when they went to the main middle of the room.

Byleth saw Dimitri next to an unfamiliar red haired girl. He looked around the room and then he saw her.

Byleth smiled and waved when they both saw each other.

Dimitri smiled back but immediately looked away when the music started to play.

The music was being composed by a violinist that Byleth never saw before and all the people in the middle of the room started doing the waltz with the people next to them.

Some people from the sidelines started to join in the middle of the room to do the ballroom dance with one another.

Dimitri started to dance with the red haired girl. He had one hand on the red haired girl's waist and the other hand was holding hers. The red haired girl's other hand was on his shoulder. Together, they did the waltz just like that.

Edelgard also started dancing with an unfamiliar light brown haired boy that Byleth had never seen before either. It was the exact same as Dimitri dancing with the red haired girl. Edelgard's hand on the boy's shoulder with her other hand holding his as he had his other hand on her waist.

They were both smiling and seemed to have enjoyed it. They were dancing quite close to one another.

This surprised Byleth a bit to see Dimitri smiling while dancing. He was against being the dancer for the white heron cup but he seemed to be pretty calm and cheery to dance here. Byleth started to mentally wish that she asked someone to dance with her at the ball. It looked like fun and she couldn't help but specifically stare at Dimitri and the red haired girl instead of everyone else.

Byleth's smile fell from there. She admittedly wanted to dance with someone but she didn't know anyone around her. Not to mention, she still for some reason felt that disappointment of seeing Dimitri dance with someone else first.

She continued to watch (or rather stare) at the dancing until someone familiar finally caught her eye.

She saw Claude not far from where she was and he saw her. He greeted her with a smile and walked towards her. Claude must have seen her reactions from her earlier because he somehow knew that she wanted to dance too.

He winked at her before unexpectedly but gently grabbing her hand to guide her to where everyone else was dancing. Byleth didn't object considering she did want to dance at some point although it was slightly awkward considering her and Claude weren't that close.

Byleth put her hand on his shoulder while he put his hand on her waist. Then Byleth's other hand held Claude's other hand as they started to dance.

Byleth was a bit nervous but she had it under control.

A lot of the attention was put on her and Claude. Especially students that were actually friends with her.

Dimitri then took a slight glance at her when he had the opportunity to do so. He couldn't do much because he was focused on dancing with the girl.

Finally, when the people stopped dancing, there were lots of people clapping.

Dimitri and the red haired girl thanked one another as they stopped dancing just like everyone else who was dancing.

Byleth did the same with Claude and found herself looking at Dimitri.

She was going to go to him until she was stopped by a lot of people. She didn't even know half of them.

"Professor! May I have this dance?"

"Forget them Professor, Can I dance with you?"

"Hey I asked first!"

"Professor, sorry about those guys. May I have-"

"Hey!"

Byleth couldn't even catch up with what everyone was saying.

Dimitri was going to go to her until he saw her surrounded by a lot of people. Then he himself was surrounded by many girls, asking for a dance.

Dorothea, Sylvain & Ingrid could see how surrounded Byleth and Dimitri were.

Sylvain laughed. "Look who's popular tonight!"

Ingrid sighed and felt bad for them. "Looks exhausting..."

Dorothea surprisingly didn't really seem to be focused on Byleth and Dimitri. She was looking around as if she was looking for something. "Does anyone know where Petra went? She was literally just here?!"

"She probably went to dance with someone." Ingrid reassured.

"Hmm..." Dorothea frowned. She wasn't entirely sure she believed Ingrid.

Meanwhile, Byleth found herself dancing with someone she didn't even know while Dimitri also did that.

Then, when that dance was over, Byleth was asked by many people again...

\-----

The cycle kept continuing for ages to the point where Byleth couldn't just take it anymore.

When no one was looking, she took the opportunity to run out as fast as she could out the nearest entrance.

When she made it out the entrance, she didn't stop there. She continued to run and then she started to only walk when she made it to the courtyard.

She was relieved to finally be out of there. It felt awkward to even be in there. She couldn't even believe that she was wondering what it would be like to dance

As she walked in the courtyard, Sothis took this as the opportunity to finally talk to her. _"Running away?"_

Byleth had her head down, looking a bit guilty. Sothis took that as a yes and continued to speak. _"I understand. You hardly had the time to breathe in there. It must be heard to be the favourite teacher at the ball! Poor, poor Professor!"_

Byleth shook her head. "I am not everyone's favourite..."

Sothis sighed and rolled her eyes. _"Was that a joke? I find it hard to tell with you. Just think of all the students begging you to dance!"_

Byleth finally faced her head back up and she saw someone. It was surprising. He didn't expect to see her either.

Dimitri.

She went over to him as he started to talk to her. "Professor? What are you doing here?"

Though, they both that was a stupid question because the answer was pretty obvious. Byleth couldn't handle being in there anymore and left.

Byleth didn't answer and changed the topic. She asked the first thing that popped into her head. "Aren't you going to dance with Edelgard?"

Byleth couldn't believe she asked such an awkward question but what did give her the idea was from the White Heron Cup day, when he somehow knew Edelgard was great at dancing and loved it.

Dimitri shook his head before she could say anything. "No. I should think not."

Dimitri realised why she may have asked that so he clarified something on why he said what he said that day. "As a child, Edelgard taught me how to dance. It was...a bit awkward, honestly."

That... wasn't something she was expecting to hear. Sure, she didn't know what she expected to hear but still. "Edelgard?"

Dimitri nodded. "I've told you before that we're siblings by marriage, haven't I?"

_"Yeah... That's right, he did. Not to mention that... interesting conversation with Arundel that happened the other month..."_ Byleth shrugged at her thoughts.

Dimitri continued despite Byleth thinking a bit, not noticing that she was thinking about it. "Her birth mother was my stepmother, although I didn't know that at the time. My stepmother treated me with such kindness... just as though I were her own flesh and blood. And yet she never so much as hinted that she had her own child...Edelgard. We were born and raised in different territories, without ever knowing the other even existed. Yet, against all odds, for just over a year, we became childhood friends."

Byleth was surprised. "Friends?"

Dimitri nodded. "Indeed. Unaware of each other's stations or backgrounds, we met and became incredibly close. This was when she and Lord Arundel were living in the Kingdom."

Byleth was now confused. "Why were they in the Kingdom?"

"They were in exile... This was a time of great turmoil within the Empire. I ran into her when visiting Lord Arundel's residence with my father. She seemed... quite bored. With everything."

Dimitri looked away, smiling to himself as he remembered Edelgard and himself from back then. "At first I found her to be difficult and stubborn, but that facade quickly fell away, revealing her true self beneath..."

He then frowned to himself when he remembered when Edelgard... was teaching him how to dance. "That's around the time when she taught me how to dance. Her instruction was... Oh, let's call it strict. To put it nicely."

He closes his eyes as he remembers the words him and Edelgard exchanged as children when trying to dance.

_"You're supposed to lead with your right!"_ The brown haired, pig tailed young Edelgard once said in that good old bossy tone of hers

_"El, the sun's going down! I really oughta be heading home..."_ The long haired, young and naive Dimitri once answered in a very annoyed tone.

He continues to speak as he hears those reminiscing old voices in his head. "That one year before she had to return to the Empire was...so much fun. The time of my life, in many ways."

Dimitri looked back at Byleth who was listening to everything he was saying. He wasn't entirely sure if he should bring it up but he couldn't help it. "It's kind of pathetic to think about it all these years later, but can you guess what I gave her as a parting gift?"

Byleth thought a bit before she guessed. The most logical answer would be flowers or a book but... She remembers something that Sylvain once quietly said to Dimitri the other month when she, Dimitri and Sylvain were eating lunch together. Neither of them knew she had heard what Sylvain said that time but she for some reason remembered it. What Sylvain said was _**"Your Highness I have a tiny little suggestion.. How about you give her a dagger? I'm sure she will smile just like the girl you gave a dagger to many years ago did!"**_

That line made no sense to her before but if this was what Sylvain was referring to...then that would explain a lot...

So she finally spoke. "A dagger?"

Dimitri stared at her for a bit, clearly not expecting her to guess that. He looked a bit shocked too. "Huh. Good guess, Professor. But I swear, it came from the heart."

Dimitri stopped looking shocked and continued. "In Faerghus, we've long considered blades as tools of destiny. As a way to cut a path to a better future. She was being dragged all over, unable to live the life she wanted. I thought the dagger could help her cut a path to the future she dreamed of."

Dimitri will never forget that reaction of hers. She was pretty shocked and what she said pretty much showed that. _"It's... a dagger? Why would you give me something like this?"_

Dimitri shook his head. There was no point in reminiscing like this anymore. He spoke at last. "However...that was many years ago. I'm sure she's forgotten all about the boy I was back then."

"It's not too late to reconnect." Byleth tried to reassure him.

Dimitri frowned. "I'm afraid it's far too late for that. Things are different now. She's different. I'm different."

Dimitri then just realised he just told Byleth all of that... Something he wouldn't normally tell people. Not even any of his childhood friends or Dedue even know about this.

And yet.. He wasn't mad at himself for telling her all of this. He knew he could trust her.

He shrugged it off and looked away. He then remembered a certain place. He changed the topic. "Anyway... I'm feeling a bit out of place here. Festivities like this don't suit me."

He then slightly turned his head to look at her and smiled at her. "Professor... Will you join me for a bit? You must be getting a bit tired of the ball by now."

Neither Byleth nor Dimitri himself expected him to say something like that.

Byleth nodded and smiled. "Sure, I'd like that... But... Where should we go?"

"How about the goddess tower? It's quiet and I doubt that people would be chasing after you in a place like that for a dance."

_"The goddess tower huh?"_ Byleth thought. She remembered Dorothea and Petra talking about it before. She remembered when Mercedes and Annette wouldn't shut up about it too.

Byleth nodded. "That sounds fine but it may be a bit difficult considering we'll need to go through the reception hall and Cathedral to get there."

Then Byleth and Dimitri started to head there. They walked inside the Reception Hall entrance that mainly led to the Cathedral.

Thankfully, no one in the reception hall saw them as they were too busy with eating food, dancing or trying to find a dance partner.

As they went past the Cathedral and up the stairs to the Goddess tower, there was some unusual whispering that neither of them could hear.

"I am hearing footsteps." A familiar voice whispered to themselves.

Byleth thought she heard some randomly fast footsteps above but she just assumed it was her imagination.

Her and Dimitri finally got up to the top of the stairs. It was quite long.

They walked inside there a bit.

Finally Dimitri and her stopped. He looked at her. He felt a bit nervous and he had no idea why. "It's quiet here, isn't it, Professor?"

.....

There was an awkward pause but Dimitri broke the silence. "That reminds me. Do you know the legend associated with the Goddess Tower?"

Byleth nodded. "I've heard it."

This surprised Dimitri a little. "Is that right? You don't strike me as the sort to enjoy stories like that. They say that wishes made in this tower will come true. I wonder who came up with such a silly notion."

"You don't believe it?"

"Legends are legends, nothing more. I doubt there are many who really believe that wishes can be granted."

Dimitri looked sad and put his head down. "The goddess just watches over us from above... That is all. No matter how hard someone begs to be saved, she would never so much as offer her hand. And even if she did, we lack the means to reach out and grasp it. That's how I feel about her."

Byleth frowned a bit. Something about that statement felt really off but she didn't know why.

Dimitri put his head back up and smiled. "In any case... I suppose there's no harm in passing the time with silly legends. What do you say, Professor? Care to make a wish? We are here on the night of the ball. Why don't you try wishing for something?"

Byleth couldn't think of anything. "After you."

Dimitri was a bit lost in thought as he thought of a wish. "A wish of my own... I suppose my wish...is for a world in which no one would ever be unjustly taken from us. Or...something along those lines."

He did have another wish in mind but there's no way he can do that now.

Byleth smiled. "I'll wish for the same."

Dimitri was slightly taken aback from her smile despite staying composed. "Thank you, Professor. Although, at a time like this..."

Dimitri said something without thinking. He didn't even think about it before he said it. "Perhaps it would make more sense for me to wish that we'll be together forever. What do you think?"

...

No one said anything. It was just silent.

...

Byleth had no idea how to respond to that... wish of his. She wasn't even sure if he was serious or not.

...

Dimitri had no idea why he said that. Was he trying to make a funny joke? He couldn't tell. He assumed that's why he said that. He wasn't thinking correctly when he did say that.

Though he was waiting to hear her answer.... For some reason.

But this left her silent and confused so Dimitri finally clarified that. "Haha! Well now, Professor! You must admit I've improved in the art of joke telling."

Byleth didn't look pleased. "That's cruel."

Dimitri immediately regretted saying that when she made that face. He was worried now and he expressed that. "I'm sorry... I guess that was rather thoughtless of me."

Dimitri kept getting stressful thoughts. " _What if I made her panic? What if she didn't like that wish? What if... She did like that wish?"_

He shook his head to remove that last thought, making his heart race a little. He looked away from her. "Honestly... I do regret saying such a thing. Please think nothing of it. I've blurted out irresponsible things like that to my classmates. Promises that we'll see each other again and the like. I have no business making such promises for the future."

Dimitri put his hand on his chest. "There are certain things that I must accomplish, even if it means risking my life. I may not even have a future to promise to someone."

That... was painful for Byleth to hear. He must be talking about revenge.

So if he had no future to promise to someone then she should at least say this to him now while she has the chance even if it may be awkward. Perhaps it may even help him rethink his future even.

Before Byleth could say what she wanted to say, Dimitri spoke with a smile. "We should head back soon. It's rude of me to keep you all to myself. Shall we, professor?"

"Sure but before we go, can I tell you something Dimitri?"

"Hmm? Yes of course you can. What is it, Professor?"

Byleth took a deep breath before she said anything. "Well... I just wanted you to know that... thank you.... Thank you for everything you've done for me. This is a bit embarrassing to admit but if I'm being honest, this year was a wonderful one, probably the best year I've ever had. Of course all of my students had a lot to do with that but for some reason, you've been the biggest impact on it. Seriously. Thank you Dimitri..."

Byleth blushed a bit and had a huge heart warming smile.

Dimitri looked away in embarrassment after she said that and after seeing her smile. He even put his hand over his face. He put his other hand where his heart was. He seemed flustered and he was a bit red

...

Dimitri didn't know how to respond.

...

Byleth was a bit anxious when there was just silence causing her to get a bit flustered.

Sothis made a comment. _"Oh dear... You put yourself in quite the awkward situation. My my, you do a great job at doing that."_

Byleth didn't bother responding to Sothis but she certainly didn't feel reassured after Sothis said that.

...

There was a long pause. Byleth finally broke the silence. "S-sorry, that was a bit cheesy of me huh? Well should we head back to the ball?"

Dimitri still didn't respond and he seemed to be out of it.

Byleth called his name again. "Dimitri?"

Dimitri slightly snapped out of his thoughts. "H-huh? O-oh yeah right!"

Byleth and him start walking down the stairs.

For some reason Dimitri refused to look at her.

His heart was beating way more than normal and he felt weird. He didn't understand this feeling. He never felt so... weird and awkward before.

_"Is this...?! No it can't be...."_ Dimitri thought to himself. He frowned at the possibility of a certain someone being correct...

Dimitri feels like he is starting to realise something but he still doesn't understand it well.

_Why now?_

\-----


	51. One's True Feelings Part 3/3: "A Prince's Realisation"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning this part might be a bit cringeworthy. I apologise if it is. Also most of the characters are kind of ooc and this part isn't great at all but it's still a very important one so please read it anyways <3

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter eight and before chapter nine. Takes place just a few minutes after "One's True Feelings Part 2: The Ball and Goddess Tower" happens and recommended for you to read that part first before you read this part. References "The Jealous Prince" part.

\-----

_Dimitri wasn't sure what to think._

As him and Byleth were leaving and heading back to the ball, he wasn't acting like himself. It was unusual.

He didn't really understand why he was feeling like this right after she said those nice words to him. It was odd and it just happened all of a sudden. His heart was beating very fast and he couldn't tell why.

_"Am I in love? It... It wouldn't make sense though because why now of all times? Love doesn't just happen all of a sudden..."_ Dimitri was in conflict with his own thoughts.

Fortunately for Dimitri, Byleth hadn't noticed that he was acting like this yet as they were walking down the stairs.

He was trying to deny that it was... that.

He continued to act and think this way as he walked back with Byleth but then Byleth faced him as they were walking in the cathedral to the reception hall.

"Hey Dimitri, I know you may not have any- Um Dimitri are you ok?" Byleth seemed to have noticed that Dimitri was looking away and thinking to himself.

Dimitri didn't hear her. He was too consumed in his thoughts. _"What am I going to do? Should I ask Sylvain about it or-"_

"Dimitri, are you feeling ok?" Byleth snapped Dimitri back into reality.

"H-huh? Oh uh sorry Professor! I um.. Was a bit half asleep? Did you say something?"

"Oh well, I was actually going to ask if... Well this might sound awkward and I know you might not want to dance anymore but... Would you like to dance with me a bit later on? If that's ok with you of course..."

Dimitri unintentionally blurted out. "Um sure! I-I uh... That sounds nice!"

Byleth wasn't really expecting that answer but she smiled. "Thank you Dimitri. I hope that didn't sound forceful or awkward."

"N-no! You didn't sound like t-that at all!"

Dimitri was stuttering and Byleth now seemed a bit more aware of his unique behaviour. She couldn't help but ask. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem-"

"I'm fine! Don't w-worry! It's...fine" He looked away.

Byleth wasn't entirely convinced but before she could do anything else, they both found themselves back in the reception hall without realising it.

Thankfully for both of them, things seemed to have calmed down. Not as many students are there and both Byleth and Dimitri most likely won't have as many people asking for a dance from them.

"W-well I um... I am going to get some food! I hope that uh... I'll um see you later!" Dimitri quickly runs to where the food is.

Byleth was confused but she was offered a dance by someone to which she accepted.

Meanwhile, Dimitri quickly went to get some food around a corner in the reception and when he was going to grab something, he suddenly felt an arm on his shoulder.

"Where have you been this whole time?"

Dimitri didn't seem too alarmed because he knew who it was when they spoke. No one had the same tone as that one person.

Sylvain.

Dimitri sighed and faced Sylvain. Surprisingly, Ingrid and Mercedes were there with him too. "That's none of your business."

"You probably shouldn't be so curious about everything he does Sylvain." Ingrid seemed to be here as well. She had her arms crossed.

"Yeah, ye-"

"OW!"

"S-sorry Annette! I messed up again! I'm no good at this..."

The four students turned their attention towards where those voices came from. It was from Annette and Ashe.

It seemed like Annette was trying to teach Ashe how to dance but... wasn't very successful in doing so.

"So..." Sylvain attempted to remove the attention that was put on those two and put the attention back on Dimitri.

"So what?" Dimitri asked.

"Did you and the Professor go to the goddess tower? Was that the place where you both went" Sylvain cut straight to the point.

"What?"

Sylvain laughed. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Why else were you both walking together in here from the cathedral? I could see you both walking back from the cathedral from here you know."

"Was that where you guys were?" Mercedes seemed to be surprised.

"Wel.. Um yes.. We were but all we did was take a break. I mean people were constantly asking us all for a dance so that would make sense right?" Dimitri clarified.

"...I suppose?" Ingrid was confused at this behaviour of his.

"Although... I don't know what's the matter with me..." Dimitri didn't realise he said that out loud.

"The matter with you?" Mercedes was now very curious.

The three of them gave Dimitri a look. A very confused look on what he is talking about...

Dimitri now realised he did. "Oh no.. Did I say that outloud?"

"Yes you did. What did you mean by that, Your Highness?" Sylvain teased.

Dimitri wasn't sure how to respond. Normally he'd try to change the subject but... this was something that he didn't quite understand.

"Um... well.... I have a question... I... Byleth said something really nice to me when we left and I felt weird... Like I felt flustered and-"

"You have a crush on her." Sylvain cut him off and teased him again.

Dimitri groaned. "No! How would it be that?! From what I hear, falling in love with someone doesn't happen so suddenly so how would it be that?"

"From what you hear? Who told you because I don't remember telling you...?"

"Not the main point of what I was talking about..."

Mercedes frowned. "Well... I get what you're saying and all but..."

"But what?" Dimitri couldn't resist asking.

"In your case, are you sure it's sudden? Maybe you've had feelings for her for a while but never realised it."

"But how would that be the case? I've never once gotten flustered when she's around or gotten flustered because of her?!"

Mercedes and Ingrid looked down while Sylvain was laughing even more. Dimitri is not fond of their reactions because it literally showed how they didn't really believe him.

Dimitri sighed. "Ok... Do you have any examples?"

"Plenty. Like that time when you got Jeal-" Sylvain winked.

"Will you stop bringing that up?"

"Then why were you jealous of me from spending time with her, Your Highness."

"Well... I..."

Ingrid sighs. "Ok this clearly isn't going anywhere. Wouldn't there be any other alternatives to why Dimitri may be acting this way now?"

"Maybe you were flustered by that comment?" Mercedes suggested.

Dimitri wanted to believe that but he shook his head. "But I've been told many things similar to that in the past by others and I've never once reacted like that..."

Ingrid sighed. "Well... I'm sorry, your highness but I really don't know what else to suggest or what it could be. I hate to admit it but I think Sylvain might for once be right..."

Dimitri didn't look too pleased.

"Ok well... let's start again. How did you feel exactly?" Sylvain asked a bit seriously

"Well... Flustered, I was really red and my heart was pounding."

"What do you think of her exactly?"

"I've always seen her as an amazing professor but after that mission with Flayn, we became closer."

"Yup. Definitely a crush."

"I'm telling you, it-"

Mercedes sighed and unintentionally cut him off. "Not to sound rude Dimitri but...why is it a big deal for you to fall in love with her anyways?

DImitri thought to himself. " _There was no way I could tell them why..._ ** _How falling in love could distract him from my true goal..."_**

"It's not that I'm against it, I just don't think it's that!"

"Are you really sure you don't think it's love?" Mercedes asked rather awkwardly

Dimitri frowned. He doesn't want to admit but he has a feeling that they may be right. He feels ridiculous for only just realising now that it _may_ be the case.

Perhaps he felt that way when they first met. He admittedly did always feel different whenever she was around.

Dimitri said nothing and shook his head. "Maybe it is.. Ugh... I don't know anymore. I don't want to talk about this."

Sylvain laughed. "Man, I never thought I'd have a conversation like this with you of all people! His Highness has a crush and he finally is not dense to it! Hopefully you won't give her a dagger."

Mercedes and Ingrid gave Sylvain a confused look when he mentioned that last line but they quickly shrugged it off. Dimitri didn't even bother answering that as he was too frustrated to focus.

Then all of the four students but Dimitri shifted their attention to Byleth. She was alone and looked slightly tired

Sylvain had an idea. "How about you offer her a dance?"

"What?! How would that help?!"

Mercedes agreed with Sylvain's idea and clarified. "Well, if you feel flustered, a mix of happiness and nervousness, have your heart racing... All those symptoms while you dance with her then maybe, you'll get your answer."

"That's a good point but...Wait how do you know- Erghh it doesn't matter, it's none of my business. Then when we get the answer, let's promise we forget this entire discussion..."

Sylvain smirked and snickered. "All I can do is promise I won't tell the Professor or too many people for that matter."

Dimitri glared at Sylvain but shrugged it off. He looked a bit nervous. He walked towards Byleth.

Byleth saw him and she seemed happy. "Hello Dimitri!"

When Dimitri went over to her, he offered his hand. "..Um.. May I-I have this dance?"

Byleth nodded as she smiled. "Sure!"

Dimitri guided her to a bit more towards the middle of the room. Fortunately for him, there weren't as many students watching but it was even weirder that he is more nervous now than he was to dance with the red haired girl from earlier.

They started to dance the waltz. Dimitri's hand being on her waist and his other hand was gently holding her hand. Byleth's other hand was instinctively on his shoulder.

It also felt a bit awkward that he is holding her hand because they never held hands before.

_Her hand felt... kind of warm... Even odder considering Dimitri cannot stand heat._

_All the symptoms were there as he was dancing with her. His heart raced, he felt happy and nervous at the same time..._

_Maybe..._ **_He is in love..._ **

_It was a weird feeling but it was also... nice._

Dimitri tried to not feel happy but he didn't succeed.

Byleth on the other hand... She certainly was enjoying this dance.

_Though she never noticed... How nice Dimitri's eyes were..._

_For a moment.. Just a moment..._

_She thought she felt her heart pound for just a second._

_Just... a second. Or maybe it was just her imagination._

She quickly threw away all of those thoughts though.

\-----

After a small while, they stopped.

"That was... Fun!" Byleth said calmly.

Dimitri nodded. He couldn't say anything.

"Thank y-you for the dance Professor! Well um.. I-I'm feeling a bit exhausted now so I think I might call it a night but once again Professor thank you!"

He waved at her and left.

With... Sylvain, Mercedes & Ingrid not far behind.

Before anyone could say anything, Sylvain made the first comment. "So, you seemed to have had fun dancing with the girl you like right?"

Dimitri nodded. "Yes... It was fun."

There was a pause.

Sylvain finally broke it. "I'm surprised you didn't deny the "the girl you like" part of my sentence."

"Ack!"

"So you admit it huh? You're not naive to that fact anymore?" Sylvain teased.

"Um... I suppose so?"

"Wait really?!" Sylvain wasn't expecting that answer.

"There's no reason to deny it but please... I beg of you three, do not tell her or the main public about this!" Dimitri begged.

"We promise!" Mercedes nodded.

"You seem more calm about it now. Why's that? You were way more nervous before..." Sylvain said.

"I-I don't know... I guess I'm just accepting it and...well... I think I've felt this way since we've first met to be honest!" Dimitri admits.

Ingrid smiled at that comment. "Awww! That's so sweet!"

Sylvain ignored Ingrid and proceeded. "So you're going to tell her right?"

"Well... Not now but maybe when we graduate, I might. Though I doubt she feels the same."

With that Dimitri headed over to his room and said goodbye to Mercedes and Ingrid. Since him and Sylvain had rooms next to each other, they kept walking to them.

Sylvain rambled about how insane it is that Dimitri isn't naive about his feelings anymore until they went their separate ways for the night.

Though Dimitri wondered something that night.

_"Was it... ok to enjoy living like this?"_

_"Was revenge... that important?"_

\-----


	52. Jeralt's Ring & Diary

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter nine and takes place before chapter ten. Takes place on the 7th of the Guardian Moon. Takes place before "An Expression" part and "Tales of the Red Canyon" part. Mainly references "Heartbreaking Tears" part. Also references "Get Some Rest!" 

\-----

_Byleth wasn't very social anymore like she was for the past few moons._

All she did was fish, train at the training grounds and teach. That was all. 

Then again, no one could really blame her for feeling that way. 

On the morning of the 7th though, Byleth remembered something.

That Jeralt left something behind for her and how she had also needed to read more of his diary.

So when she got dressed, that was the first thing she did. 

She left her quarters, not realising what time it was.

She made her way to Jeralt's quarters and managed to stay surprisingly unseen.

Sothis realised what Byleth was doing here. _"...Oh that's right! Your father left something behind for you... Well, do you know where it could be?"_

Byleth frowned. She knew that Jeralt's diary was on his desk but she didn't really know where the gift he left for her was.

Byleth shook her head which made Sothis look a bit disappointed. _"I see... Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and look for it. I doubt your father made it too difficult. So what he left behind was a bag, correct?"_

Byleth nodded.

_"And he mentioned that there was something special in that bag for you to keep, right?"_

Byleth nodded once again.

_"Hmm... Maybe..."_ Sothis thought to herself as she looked around with her eyes. Byleth checked near the desk which was where the diary was.

Sothis turned her head towards a shelf near the door of Jeralt's room and something caught her attention. _"Oh? Is something hiding just behind that book?"_

Byleth turned her head towards where Sothis was looking and referring to.

She went over to the shelf and saw that there was something behind the book called "Encyclopedia of Fodlan's Fish"

She pulled the book out and saw that there was a small leather bag. 

She opened it and then... 

She felt like crying.

It was a ring but not just any ring.

It was the same ring that Jeralt had given to her mother. 

She remembers when he told her about the ring and mentioned how he hopes that she'd give it to someone, someday.

She remembered those words he said about that ring to her... so vividly.

_**"This ring is the only keepsake I have of her. In time, it will be yours. One day, I hope you'll give this ring to someone you love as well as I love her."** _

Byleth wiped away a tear as she remembered that. 

Sothis recognised the ring. _"That ring! I have seen it before... Ah, I know! Jeralt showed that ring to you beside a grave... Do you recall?"_

Byleth nodded. Sothis continued. _"He said he wished for you to have that ring one day. That means it's yours. He also said that you should gift that ring to someone special."_

"...Someone special?" Byleth bit her lip.

Sothis didn't expect that reaction. _"Does that concept sound so odd to you?"_

Byleth looked down. "Is it even possible for me to... even fall in love?"

_"What?"_

"Well... I have no heartbeat. You need a heartbeat to fall in love... right? Or to feel anything at all really.. That's why I have no emotions."

_"But you do have emotions."_

"No... I don't"

_"Yes you do!"_

"No I never did feel anything Sothis... I'm not even sure if I am-"

_"It's not true and you know it isn't true. If that is true then why do you always smile whenever your friends around around? Or why are you showing guilt when you killed people in the past? Or why are you expressing sadness right now?"_

Byleth didn't respond. She knew Sothis was right because she certainly could feel emotions.

Though, she doesn't feel like she can ever fall in love with her lack of a heartbeat.

Byleth looked at her Father's Diary. She went over to grab and read it even though she was carrying the bag and the ring separately. 

She put the ring down on the desk and she starts to open the book.

By accident however, she finds herself on a page that was written only two months ago.

But, she didn't go back. She found herself wanting to read how he felt during that time. 

_**"Day 14th of Red Wolf Moon:** _

_Remire Village is in a bad state right now, I wish I could do something about it but Lady Rhea forbids it until more is known or a bunch of garbage like that. In the meantime though, I have to stay in the monastery._ **  
** _I'm still a bit concerned about Byleth with what happened earlier this month. She fainted in the beginning of the month and I heard from those brats that she was staying up and overworking. Thankfully, that prince of that class convinced her to be careful and to stop working like that.  
_ _Speaking of that prince, she and him seem to be pretty close. It's strange, I've never seen her so happy before when I found her with him. She is also very happy with the rest of those brats. She is way more social than I remember her being. I hate to admit it but I do owe those brats one, she seems genuinely happier . And tha-"_

"Professor! There you are! Thank Goodness your ok!" 

Byleth was startled when she was unintentionally interrupted from reading the diary and didn't even get to finish reading the sentence that came next. While, still carrying the diary and bag, she turned to see who it was.

It was Seteth and Dimitri.

Byleth kept her composure. "Oh uh... Hello. Was there something you needed?"

Seteth sighed. "It seemed like you've forgotten about class today. Today is Wednesday and you were meant to be in the classroom half an hour ago."

Byleth put her hand over her face. "Ah I did forget. Sorry Seteth."

Dimitri apologises. "My apologies Professor, we waited for a while and I assumed something might of happened so I panicked."

Byleth nods. "It's ok. I understand."

As Byleth tried to put Jeralt's diary in the bag, Seteth glares at the book and quickly grabbed it from her hands.

"Seteth!" Byleth was a bit frustrated.

Seteth's eyes widened when he realised what the book was. "...This is?!"

Dimitri was a bit confused while Byleth was frustrated.

"Seteth! Can I please have that back?"

Seteth took a pause before he answered. "My Apologies but I need to hold on to this for a while. I'll return it to you but... With this book, I might be able to find something out."

"Find what out? How would you find anything out?" Byleth looked angrier now.

"...I can't tell you. I'm sorry I understand how you might feel about me taking this from you but... I might find out what Rh- ...Just, I'm sorry but I must hold on to it at the moment."

Before Byleth could even answer, Seteth quickly left the room.

He definitely felt guilty to do that to her but... he needs to see if the book has that information.

Byleth looked mad but she took a sigh and kept her composure again.

Dimitri wanted to ask what that book was but he knew he shouldn't ask her something like that. It may be personal.

Instead Dimitri apologised again. "I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't know he wou- er.."

He cut himself off when he saw her put her ring back in the bag. Byleth then noticed that the ring caught his attention. 

Byleth couldn't resist asking. "Um Dimitri... Why are you...?"

Dimitri shook his head and shrugged it off. "Oh! I'm Sorry, I just couldn't help but stare at that ring."

"...Why?"

"It has a nice aura to it. I'm... not entirely sure why.."

Byleth looked down for a moment and didn't bother answering. 

Dimitri shook his head again. "Anyways, we should get everyone and return to class."

"Yeah... Right." Byleth murmured.

As Byleth starting walking ahead, Dimitri stayed where he was.

Dimitri sighed. "Professor... Maybe this isn't the right time to bring this up but..."

Byleth turned towards him and felt a bit surprised. She wasn't expecting him to speak up all of a sudden. Regardless, Dimitri continued to speak. "I promise, I'll always be by your side. I hope you know that and always remember that."

Byleth gave him a small, sad smile. "I know... I don't doubt that. Thank you Dimitri."

\-----


	53. The Answer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS PART DEALS WITH GRIEF AND HAS SOME MENTIONS OF DEATH. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter nine and takes place before chapter ten. Takes place on the 22nd of the Guardian Moon. Takes place after "Chaos and Trust" part, "Jeralt's Ring & Diary" part, "An Expression" part and "Tales of the Red Canyon" part. Takes place a few hours after class is over for that day and the location is in Byleth's quarters. References "The Unknown Flames" part and "Jeralt's Ring & Diary" part.

\-----

_What Byleth ended up doing after class was go back to her room this time._

She was still grieving and wasn't sure what to think.

The only person she wants to see is Sothis and Jeralt...

And Rhea and Monica too of course but that's for different reasons...

All Byleth was doing in this room was staying silent, sitting on her bed and staring at Sothis who was staring right back at her from her desk.

"What did Rhea do to me? Am I even human?" Byleth finally said something.

Sothis said nothing which irritated Byleth. "So I guess that's the answer huh? I'm truly not human."

_"I've told you so many times! You don't need a heartbeat to consider yourself human!"_ Sothis crossed her arms.

"Yes I do! Why am I the only one without a heartbeat? Why don't I have one? Did Rhea do something to me? Is that why she's been treating me this way? I... They..."

Byleth stood up and punched the wall and groaned. "Gah! Who am I supposed to trust now? What do I do? Do I even have a purpose?"

Byleth loudly said that but thankfully no one was around the room she was in at that moment. Though if they were, that wouldn't have stopped because she couldn't careless.

Sothis was about to open her mouth to say something but Byleth cut in and continued to speak. "You only want me to be alive because if I die, you do aswell. Isn't that right?"

Sothis hissed at Byleth's assumption. _"No th-"_

Byleth cut off Sothis and started saying things without thinking. "Then I should just go die at this rate. My dad is gone because I wasn't strong enough to save him. I'm the reason he's dead. I'm such an idiot, I wish I never come to this stupid place. I wish I was dead! Once I kill Monica, I should join him in-"

_"Byleth!"_ Sothis yelled.

This silenced and surprised Byleth. She never once heard Sothis call her by her first name.

Sothis continued to yell as Byleth remained silent. _"Can you hear yourself? Nothing you said was true. Jeralt didn't die because of you. He died for what he believed in! He loved you and he knows that you loved him."_

"I doubt that he knew how I felt about him. Heck I doubt that he knew I could feel anything. Remember? I have no heartbeat."

_"But it doesn't matter if you have no heartbeat! Jeralt knew you loved him and those wishes of yours... is that how you really feel?"_

Byleth bit her lip and looked away. Of course she doesn't wish she hadn't went to the monastery...

_"Thought so..."_

Byleth looked back at Sothis. "But he's gone... Why else should I live?"

_"For the same reason as everyone else. For the same reason you were living before these events. Jeralt did the same, will you?"_

Byleth didn't understand. "What do you even mean?"

_"Jeralt is gone but that doesn't mean your path is gone. Once you've found out what you believe in, live for it. Like what that prince said."_

"You mean how he said that I should look deep in my heart and find the answer on what I should do now?"

_"Yes..."_

Byleth found herself crying again.

_How can one find an answer? Can she ever figure it out?_

"Do you really think I can find an answer? Even if someone like me who might not be human, looks deep into their non beating heart...?"

_"You're a human. You're a kind hearted human who can feel any emotion even without a heartbeat. I know you will find an answer..."_

Sothis comforted Byleth the entire rest of the day.

For Byleth, it felt nice to have so many beautiful people by her side.

She truly does hope she can take both Dimitri's and Sothis' advice to heart.

Even if that heart never beats and most likely never will.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! I know that Sothis and Byleth are kinda out of character here but that's actually the point. Some people don't act like themselves when it comes to these types of situations. Anyways expect that to not be the only time these characters act out of line depending on certain situations though I won't say what. This also foreshadows lots of scenes in post timeskip parts so keep that in mind lol.
> 
> Anyways just a small amount of parts left before I get back to writing the post time skip parts at last lol. Love you all and thanks for reading once again! And uh... Sorry if I overdid this part with the thoughts and sadness.


	54. Future Imperial Knights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry I wrote a part that's short...again. Anyways, this will be the last part including these children (well... for pre timeskip at least...) from the support Byleth and Dimitri have and man... I feel like I made it a very OC part and lol sorry about that but don't expect parts like those for a good while. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this part!

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter eleven and takes before chapter twelve. Takes place after "The Professor's Birthday". Takes place on the sixteenth of the Pegasus Moon. References "Swordsmanship Learning" part and "An Admired Sword Fighter" part.

\-----

_After class that day, Byleth found herself randomly wandering around the monastery, not far from the training grounds._

She didn't really know what to do at the moment until she suddenly heard a childish but familiar sounding voice.

"Teacher?!"

Byleth turned around and saw five children that looked as if they were walking to the training grounds.

She recognised them. It was the five children that she and Dimitri trained swordsmanship to a while back.

The five children ran up to her and all had some look on their faces

All five of them looked shocked and confused. Byleth didn't understand why they seemed so shocked but she realised that it was the first time that they have seen her new hair colour so it was only natural they'd be confused.

"Teacher, what happened to your hair?" Elise looked sad and shocked. She truly didn't intend to sound rude when she asked that.

"Ah that...." Byleth was not sure how she was going to explain this.

"Can you change it back? I hate the colour green!" Hugo stuck his tongue out.

Elise frowned at him. "Don't be mean Hugo!"

Byleth chuckled at that remark. She took no offense to it. Not to mention, he wasn't the only one who preferred her old hair. "I wish I could change it back haha. Er... So where are you five off to right now?"

Both Alea and Cain looked a bit disgusted that she had the same hair colour as a certain someone else. Alea shrugged it off though and crossed her arms. "Well, we are going to see that if the Prince can train with us again since we are no longer going to stay in the monastery after early tomorrow morning so...."

"Oh are you all leaving?"

No one realised that Dimitri was leaving the training grounds and can sort of hear what they are saying now.

"Yup. We've been told to stay in the Imperial Territories for our own safety from tomorrow onwards. Every other child staying here has been told the same thing. We might not see you or the Prince again." Cain bit his lip.

"Wait what? I won't get to see... See teacher again?!" Elise apparently didn't know that she wasn't going to see either Byleth or Dimitri again.

"Look what you did now Cain! I told you not to mention that in front of my younger sister!" Alea looked cross

Elise quickly hugged Byleth, surprising everyone there. Dimitri saw it too.

"W-woah Elise?!" Byleth wasn't expecting that.

"Elise is normally so shy... But she only acts like this around you. I don't think I've ever seen her admire someone in my life... Well other than Mo-.... Anyways Elise let go of her!" Alea pulls Elise off Byleth.

Elise started to cry. "B-but why?"

Dimitri came over and Hugo certainly noticed. "Hi Prince!"

Everyone's attention went on him.

This didn't really stop Elise from sobbing though. "I don't want to leave anymore! I...I don't want go to the stupid empire!"

Cain sighed. "Err... Sorry Prince about this stuff. Elise is throwing a tantrum because she doesn't want to move to the empire because she admires Teacher or whatever."

Dimitri looked a bit pale, he couldn't find the words to say.

Byleth reassured Elise. "Don't worry, I'm sure we will see each other again!"

"Wait really?" Bryce finally stopped being silent and looked a bit hopeful.

Byleth nodded to both of them which cheered Elise up.

They all believed her though Cain and Alea seemed to have... _other ideas._

"So... you're all going tomorrow morning?" Dimitri really didn't know what to say.

Alea nodded. "Yes. We will all be together even if the five of us are not all related."

"Yes that's right... Alea, Bryce and Elise... You three are..." Dimitri spoke

"Siblings, yup. Cain and Hugo are not my brothers though, though I wish they were!"

"Alea stop talking about me and Hugo as if we aren't here! But if you want me to be specific, me and Hugo are siblings. Our parents were friends with their parents so that's how we became friends!" Cain looked proud.

"Well, I'm going to miss you five, I hope you have an amazing time in the Empire... Do you know which territory?" Dimitri asked.

"We haven't been told yet." Bryce looked a bit grumpy.

"I like your necklace." Elise changed the topic quickly.

"Oh thanks! I love it too." Byleth smiled.

Dimitri looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"Where did you buy it?" Elise asked.

"Well... Dimitri made it for me actually." Byleth pointed at Dimitri.

"Wow really?" Elise seemed impressed.

Dimitri was embarrassed but secretly pleased. "Er... yes bu-"

"Ah I finally found you little rascals! What are you all doing here?" Alois showed up without anyone noticing. It seemed like he was looking for the kids.

Cain groaned. "So much for the training..."

"It's time for you five to come with me! We must help you prepare for tomorrow morning's trip!"

Elise looked like she was going to cry again but Byleth reassured her. "I promise we will see each other again."

Elise nodded, stood up and ran to Alois. She waved at Byleth, slightly sad.

"Thank you both for everything!" Cain thanked them both on everyone's behalf.

With that, they finally walked back with Alois.

"Say, if any of you like to see either of them again, let's all train and try to be knights for the empire!" Alea said in a bit of a deceiving tone.

"Oh! Oh! Yes! I'll get to see Teacher again?" Elise looked happy.

"I guarantee we will see her again somehow when we become knights... and maybe even **_avenge_** ** _certain people..._** "

Cain smirked after those last three words mentioned, confusing everyone else. Thankfully for them, Alois didn't hear that... **plan** of theirs...

But Regardless... They want to see those two again so they'll try to be Imperial Knights somehow.

\-----


	55. Complications and Confusion

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place after chapter three and takes place before chapter four. Takes place much before the C Support between Byleth and Dimitri.

\-----

_Both Byleth and Dimitri didn't really know what to think about each other._

It was very... complicated.

Dimitri felt unnerved whenever she was around.

Byleth barely showed any expressions or even any emotions most of the time. It was like...she didn't care about anything or anyone but it was difficult to tell at all.

He didn't judge her, hate her or anything of the sort for having little emotion. It was just... he could never tell what she was thinking. He couldn't tell if he was frustrated or fascinated about the fact he couldn't tell.

_"Does she even care about the students? About anyone she's killed? About..anyone at all? Does she only care about killing people?"_

Dimitri could never trust someone who loves killing and not care about anyone.

It reminds him... so much of someone else he knows more than anyone else.

But at the same time, he doesn't think that's the type of person she is.

He doesn't know why but he knows that she isn't like that. He believes in her but...he just couldn't figure out why.

He knows that she has humanity in her. While she showed no emotion most of the time, he has seen the glow of humanity in her eyes and actions a few times. He does wish that they can try to understand one another someday.

Byleth on the other hand, wasn't much different to when it came to Dimitri.

Unlike her though, he did show emotion and expressions.

However, she couldn't even tell if they were even genuine...

When she first met Dimitri, she felt weird. It was an odd feeling and she never felt something like that with anyone before. She couldn't tell whether she could trust him or not.

He was polite. Very polite. More polite than both Claude and Edelgard were at that moment and yet... She still felt like there was something hidden beneath that.

**_Some darkness of the sort..._ **

And yet, she also believes that the kind person he is right now is also his true self.

He just...has two sides of him or something of the sort.

_Still, she for some reason does hope that she could potentially know more about him someday..._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please keep in mind that this part took place way before every other part in this book so far (except for "That Fateful Meeting" part for obvious reasons).
> 
> This is probably the shortest part I've ever written but this was meant to show basically what the first few months were like. I won't write much parts that take place in the first few months because I don't really see why I should but if you guys would like me to, I'll try to write more than initially intended. 
> 
> Anyways finally I will be focusing on the post time skip parts again! Yay! Anyways I love you all and I hope you enjoyed this part even though it was kind of short and lame bahaha.


	56. Returned

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter thirteen and takes place before chapter fourteen. Takes place after the "Silence" part & "Refusal" part. Takes place before the "Voice" part and "Pirates of the North" part. Takes place on the eighth of Guardian Moon/That month. Most recommended for you to read "Jeralt's Diary & Ring" before this part. References the A Support between Byleth and Seteth.

\-----

_After the long day of training, Byleth quickly went back to her quarters in the afternoon._

It was rather exhausting. Training with everyone was certainly harder than it was five years ago.

But she understood why. Five years ago, no one was training for war reasons or out of fear of invasions.

Well, Edelgard and the Imperial army might have been training for that reason. Of course though she, like everyone else, was oblivious of her true reasoning for trying to get stronger back then.

When Byleth did go into her room that afternoon, she did wonder a few things.

Mainly about the past and five years ago.

_"What would've happened if I let Edelgard die back in Great Tree Moon? Would things have turned out differently? Damn it... I shouldn't of...."_

The fact that if it wasn't for Divine Pulse, she would have died from saving Edelgard's life doesn't at all make her feel better.

She took a massive sigh and shook her head. She mumbled to herself. "I really shouldn't be focusing on that stuff...but I..."

Before Byleth could mumble or think anymore things, she heard a knock on her door.

She couldn't tell who it was until the person who knocked on the door finally spoke. "Professor? There is something I'd like to return to you."

That voice came from Seteth.

 _"He... wanted to return something? What..?"_ Byleth wondered as she went to go and open the door.

"Hello Professor." He greeted her.

"Uh.. hello Seteth. What did yo-"

She cut herself off when she saw what he was holding.

It was Jeralt's diary and the bag that had the ring he gave to her in the bag.

"Seteth! Is that my father's diary?"

He looked guilty. "Yes it is and I also have the bag he left for you all those years ago."

Byleth realised that she never even gave Seteth the bag. She just put it in Jeralt's room not long after the holy tomb just in case something happened to her in battle. "Seteth. How did you get that bag?"

"I found it in Jeralt's room many years ago."

"And the ring? Is it still in there?"

Seteth nodded which relieved Byleth. He continued to speak. "I apologise for... taking these and keeping them for so long. When I found the bag in Jeralt's room, I remembered you carrying that when I took the diary from you. I found the bag back... When I found the bag, It wasn't not long before the invasion in the monastery. I panicked and took the bag just in case we didn't win and you would have lost it to someone who was never meant to have it. And for me to take this diary from you... I apologise for that too. These two things were very irresponsible of me to do so but I promise you, I kept them safe and made sure that no one did anything to them."

...There was a bit of a long pause.

Seteth was expecting Byleth to get angry but... she seemed relieved.

Byleth spoke at last. "...Thank you for keeping those safe. If you hadn't kept those, I most likely would've lost them to thieves or someone else."

Seteth looked back at her. "Please. Be careful with them. And that ring... Pardon me for asking but I assume that's...?"

Byleth nodded. "It was the marriage ring Jeralt had and he lent it to me. He... he wants me to give it to someone. Someone I fall in love with..."

Byleth remembered something and she looked a bit more serious. "Speaking of which Seteth, I'm assuming you've read the diary and know about... a certain something."

Seteth frowned. He wasn't really sure where she was going with this. "I have read the diary. Which certain something are you referring to?"

"About me. On the 20th of Horsebow moon. Apparently my true birthday and how I had no emotion whatsoever. I didn't even cry at birth. Then dad found out I had no heartbeat and that Rhea had something to do with it. My lack of heartbeat is the reason for my lack of emotions... Do you know anything that I don't about my lack of heartbeat?"

Seteth really didn't know how to answer that. "I...Yes I'm aware of that but remember that I still only have a partial understanding of who you really are, like I said a few days ago."

"Does anyone else know about my lack of heartbeat besides me, Jeralt and you?"

"Rhea knows but she seemed to have already known. Other than that, no one else does know and I recommend that we keep it a secret between us all."

Byleth nodded. "Yeah, I'd prefer that If I'm being honest. Unless...something bad happens and I have no choice but it most likely won't come to that. I also have another question. One that has bothered me since I found the ring. With my lack of heartbeat, can I feel emotions at all?"

Seteth was surprised that she asked that. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well... You know... I've always been a bit emotionless or at least before I came to the monastery. I noticed that I changed a lot as a person and I keep thinking that I felt happy with Dimitri and the others... But.. Is it possible to feel emotions without a normal beating heart? Was I just imagining that I felt something? Or did I actually feel them? Can I even fall in love either?"

Byleth felt a bit embarrassed to ask all of that but there was literally no one else she can ask.

Seteth finally said something. "Professor. What happens to you when you 'think' you feel happy?"

"Huh? Well...I feel... I guess I just feel all... I can't describe it.. I guess I feel as if everything will be alright... I feel comfortable... I feel- But..."

"See? You can feel emotions and I have no doubt that you can fall in love with someone. Describing what it's like to feel emotions can be tricky but that normally means that you do have them. I'll admit that your lack of a heartbeat makes it a bit difficult for you to... feel emotions but is it that difficult? When you came to the monastery, you formed close bonds and I noticed your mood changed more and more every moon. I saw your grief and anger when you lost Jeralt. I've seen many emotions from you too and I can tell that they're genuine. As for falling in love, that's a whole new topic on it's own. I have no doubt that you can fall in love with someone even with your lack of a heartbeat. Falling in love is... something that you don't normally notice when you feel it. You might perhaps already have fallen in love with someone but haven't noticed it yet..... But my point is that I can certainly say with great confidence that you can feel emotions. Please do not doubt that."

Byleth said nothing. She didn't know what to say.

Seteth sighed. "Anyways, I must be off. I apologise for taking your time. Please get some rest."

Before Byleth could say anything else, he was already gone.

She sighed to herself and stared at the ring.

"Falling in love huh?" Byleth mumbled to herself.

She wants to believe Seteth but... She doesn't know if she can.

But... he could be right about the fact that she may have fallen in love with someone without realising...

Byleth sighed and decided to take a rest. She can't handle thinking like this at the moment.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry this part is kind of cheesy and it's not really Dimitri focused either but I tried my hardest! Seteth is a bit ooc too sorry. BUT HEY WE ARE FINALLY BACK TO WRITING POST TIME SKIP YAY!


	57. Weathervanes of Fodlan (Paralogue)

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter thirteen and takes place before chapter fourteen. Takes place after the "Silence" part, "Refusal" part, "Returned" part, "Voice" part & "Pirates of the North" part. Takes place on the 22nd of Guardian Moon. Based on Annette and Gilbert's paralogue "Weathervanes of Fodlan". Takes place after Annette & Felix's A support. Takes place after Byleth and Sylvain's B Support and blatantly references it.

\-----

_Byleth found herself wandering around in the entrance hall until Gilbert suddenly arrived in the room._

He went up to her and asked her something. "Professor, do you have a moment?"

Byleth nodded. "Of course."

"I would hear your opinion on our situation."

Byleth remained focused while Gilbert elaborated what he meant. "Given our current fighting power, what sort of challenge do you expect we pose to the Empire? Do we have any hope of victory?"

That wasn't really a question she was sure if she wanted to answer or not.

She wants to say yes but... from the way things are going as of right now, there was absolutely no way they can win right now...

Byleth sighed and frowned. There was no way she could lie to Gilbert about it. "The probability of victory is low."

Gilbert didn't seem surprised at all by that answer. "So, we agree. However, in order to strengthen our forces, we-"

Gilbert was cut off from a random and sudden sound of someone crashing into a barrel.

"Aaaargh! Ugh, why would anyone put a barrel here?!"

Sounded like Annette and most likely was considering she does this a lot.

She walked up to Byleth and Gilbert and joined in their conversation. "Ow, that really smarts... Oh. Hello, Father."

_.....Father?_

Gilbert gave Annette a look but she ignored it. Byleth was visibly surprised.

She had no idea that Gilbert was Annette's father.

Annette attended the officers academy to see her father again.

That father was Gilbert!

It made sense but it was still surprising to find out.

Byleth looked at Gilbert which basically asked if that was true. He ignored the look so she spoke out loud to ask her question. "Father?"

Gilbert looked down and stayed silent for a short while until he suddenly spoke again. "Another stupendous fall."

Annette got angry at her father. "As though you care about my well-being."

Annette looked at Byleth and gave her a bright smile as if nothing happened just then. "Anyway... Professor, I'm heading out for a bit."

Byleth felt a bit uneasy about those words. "Where are you going?"

Annette answered. "I was thinking of going to visit my uncle."

Gilbert's eyes widened. "To see my brother? Why is that, Annette?"

"I wanna ask him to entrust me with the Hero's Relic of House Dominic. The fight from here on out is gonna be tough. I need to do whatever I can to get stronger. The best thing we can do, as far as I can tell, is to have another Hero's Relic at our disposal."

Gilbert clearly wasn't fond of the idea of Annette going to see her uncle for that reason. "You are not wrong, yet it will not be easy."

"Why's that?" Byleth asked.

"Under pressure from Cornelia, House Dominic is maintaining a pro-Imperial stance. That makes us his enemy. Brother or no, he will not hand over a Hero's Relic to us."

Annette was still hopeful. "But he's not a bad person... And we'll never know unless we ask, right?"

Annette looked down and sad all of a sudden. "And Mother might be there too..."

Gilbert still completely objected to the idea of Annette going. "The Dominic region is, at present, enemy territory. There is no guarantee you can see them safely."

Annette was frustrated. "Fine. Be that way. It's not like I was planning to ask for your help, anyway."

Annette noticed that Byleth, despite not saying it, was clearly not fond of the idea of Annette going either. Annette faced her. "Professor, don't worry about me. I'll be back soon, and with a Relic, no less!"

Gilbert yelled out when she started to leave. "Annette! Wait!"

Annette left the two of them and made her way to the region despite Gilbert trying to stop her.

Gilbert looks at Byleth and speaks again. "She never listens. So frustrating. However, if she were able to retrieve the Hero's Relic, it would prove a great boon to our forces. Perhaps I should prepare myself for the worst. I shall travel with Annette to see my brother."

He takes a deep breath and asks her for help. "Professor, might I ask you to take on a task for me? It is entirely possible that we shall be captured in the Dominic region. In anticipation of that... I would ask that you wait outside of the region, with an army at your command."

Byleth nodded without a second thought. "Of course."

Gilbert looked down. "I cannot say with confidence that we will be able to bring back the Hero's Relic without issue. While it pains me to ask this favour of you, I must also thank you for accepting."

Gilbert told Byleth where the army should meet him and Annette. He also tells her where Baron is if they are running late from seeing him, potentially being targeted.

"Wait Gilbert, before you go. Um... Should I take Dimitri with us?"

Gilbert nodded immediately. "Yes, His Highness should come with you and your army to the Dominic region and I'll meet you all there. Goodbye for now Professor."

Before Byleth could say anything else, Gilbert was already gone.

Byleth went back to the monastery and got everyone to get ready.

\-----

When Byleth, Dimitri, Ashe, Sylvain, Felix, Ingrid, Mercedes, Shamir & Caspar finally arrived to the Dominic Region, she went to the spot that Gilbert was talking about.

However...They weren't there even after waiting a couple of minutes after arriving at the spot.

"So Professor, we are meant to meet them up here? Are you sure it isn't somewhere else?" Ashe asked as he waited.

Byleth shook her head. "No. This was what Gilbert was referring to."

"You don't think something has happened, do you?" Ingrid was worried.

"No, I don't think so, maybe they're running a bit late?" Mercedes suggested in a hopeful type of way.

Dimitri on the other hand, is getting impatient. "Why are we here?"

Felix crossed his arms, not bothered to deal with Dimitri at the moment. "Because Annette is getting a relic since she cares about the army. Unlike you boar."

Byleth shot Felix a glare that pretty much said to calm down.

Dimitri shrugged it off. "Forget this. I'm go-"

"Wait. I've... I've got a bad feeling.. Come on everyone." Byleth led them.

She went to the area that Gilbert told her about.

"Looks like your bad feeling was on point, Professor." Shamir crossed her arms.

Dimitri smirked to himself when he saw the knights, he quickly grabbed out his lance and looked like he was going to charge up against them.

Sylvain was the first to notice. "Hold on, Your Highness. You'll get yourself killed if you do that."

"I don't care. These so called 'knights' are traitorous monsters who deserve to be put down!"

Ingrid sighed. "Look I understand how you might feel Your Highness but we didn't come here to kill, we came here to look out for Annette and Gilbert. To help them out of this situation."

Byleth changed the topic. "Guys! We need to focus on eliminating the soldiers around Annette and Gilbert! Then we should focus on the commander, Baron."

"Baron huh? Heh..." Dimitri slightly giggled to himself.

Byleth didn't hear Dimitri and spoke again. "Annette and Gilbert are just straight ahead! Please, we must save them! That's our top priority!"

Everyone including Dimitri agreed to this plan and immediately followed it.

\-----

Meanwhile, things weren't going too well for Annette.

"No, get away from me! I refuse to stay!"

She and her father were fighting but were certainly having a hard time dealing with them all at once.

Annette unfortunately pushed herself too hard, having the soldier take her down.

"Annette!" Gilbert feared for her safety.

"Is it going to end like this? ...I don't want to stay here...I want to stay with the Professor, Dimitri, Felix, Mercie, everyone..." Annette was mumbling to herself.

Suddenly she was shielded by someone's sword from the axe that was going to injure her.

"Then stay with us." A voice was heard.

Annette opened her eyes to see Felix blocking the attack while Byleth and Caspar take down the soldiers surrounding everyone.

"Oh Annie! Are you ok?" Mercedes rushed up to her friend and treated her wounds.

"Thank you..."

Felix suggested something. "Hey that reminds me... I'd like to hear the box song or the dungeon song."

"The box song and th- Felix! Ugh... Bring that up later!" Annette couldn't help but smile even though that comment was made.

Gilbert went straight to the point and faced Annette. "Annette, go. I will acquire the Hero's Relic, even if it means crossing blades with my brother."

Annette shook her head. "I couldn't possibly leave you to do it alone Father, please let me go with you!"

Baron Dominic commanded orders to the remaining soldiers. "Even if you must do it by force, bring me Annette!"

Annette yelled out to him. "No, get away from me! I refuse to stay!"

Everyone joined with Annette and Gilbert to defeat Baron.

The only one out of them all who seemed angry for unrelated reasons was Dimitri.

He's frustrated. He and everyone else has killed very small numbers of people because Byleth purposely won't allow anyone to do so.

At the same time though, he is a bit grateful too... But he doesn't know why?!

Then they all headed to where Baron is and took down some soldiers.

When Annette made her way to Baron, they exchanged some words with each other.

Baron was the first to say something. "I have no wish to enact violence on you, Annette. Listen to me and do as I say."

Annette shook her head. "I will not listen! I can't and I won't! There is somewhere I must return to!"

After that, Annette did the Cutting Gale spell, weakening him by a lot and so with that, Ashe and Ingrid took him down.

After that, he admitted defeat. "So...this is it. I fought well, in the end. I doubt Cornelia will think I cooperated with you."

He hands over the relic to Annette. "Take the Hero's Relic and go. And in return... promise to restore the Kingdom."

Gilbert looked down. "Brother... I thank you."

Baron wasn't done though. "And don't worry about your wife. Whatever happens, I swear I will protect her. When all of this is over, you had better return to her. Make sure victory is yours...Gustave"

Gilbert nodded. "You have my word."

After that Baron retreated and everyone was relieved about the victory.

Well...almost everyone.

"Professor! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Annette was so happy.

Byleth chuckled a bit. "It's not a-"

"You."

Byleth was interrupted by someone. She turned around to look at the owner of the voice even though she knew who it was from.

Dimitri.

"Why didn't you let any of us kill more people?"

Sylvain jumped in. "Well Your Highness, none of us wanted to kill that many to begin with. Our mission was to save our friend and defeat the commander. Not k-"

"I wasn't talking to you so stay out of this." Dimitri snapped at Sylvain.

"Ok... Sorry." Dimitri's tone and attitude kind of annoyed Sylvain but...he didn't want to talk about that with him because he knew that they won't get anywhere if he does.

Byleth shook her head and despite the fact that Sylvain said what he said to her many years ago, she didn't hesitate to defend him because she didn't want to tolerate this inappropriate behaviour of Dimitri's. "Sylvain's answer was correct actually so don't be so horrible to him, Dimitri. There was no reason for any needless killing."

**_" K I L L "_ **

Dimitri kept hearing those chants again.

Byleth noticed his random change of mood right there.

And It wasn't the first time she has witnessed him changing moods suddenly like that either. 

"...Dimitri?"

**_" S H E D O E S N ' T C A R E A B O U T Y O U "_ **

Dimitri said nothing, he just looked away.

.....

"So... Should we make our way back?" Ingrid awkwardly changed the topic.

**_" C R U S H S K U L L S "_ **

"Yeah that sounds like the best idea right now...." Ashe nodded.

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

Everyone made their way back to the monastery.

"Dimitri... Are you...?" Byleth tried to see what was wrong with him at the moment that caused him to be so angry...

**_" M O N S T E R "_ **

Dimitri said nothing and just kept walking, allowing the chants to take over him completely.

\-----


	58. What's the matter lion?

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter 13 and takes place before chapter 14. Takes place after "Silence" part, "Refusal" part, "Returned" part, "Voice" part, "Pirates of the North" part & "Weathervanes of Fodlan" part. Takes place on the 27th of Guardian Moon. Location: Training Grounds.

\-----

**_" G E T H E R H E A D "_ **

"I will father! I swear on my life I will accomplish that!" Dimitri mumbled to himself as he was training in the training grounds.

**_" D E S T R O Y K I L L"_ **

Dimitri continued to hear those voices in his head as he tried to get stronger.

**_" K I L L T H E M A L L "_ **

**_" C R U S H T H E I R S K U L L S "_ **

**_" K I L L T H O S E D I S G U S T I N G E A G L E S "_ **

These haunting words that only he can hear, made Dimitri train harder and more aggressively despite that look on his face.

.....

Then... Dimitri stopped where he was when he suddenly felt someone's presence watching him.

It was a bright presence.

Something completely different to the darkness that was around him right now.

It was her... Byleth again...

He didn't turn around to look at her. "Did you need something?"

Byleth blinked. She wanted to say something.

Honestly she really wanted to...

But... she couldn't. She couldn't find the words.

Dimitri turned around and asked her again despite the lack of an angry tone in his voice. "Did you need something?"

Byleth frowned. "Well no not really... I just wanted to see how you were..."

Dimitri smirked sadistically and started to chuckle until it turned into a huge laugh.

It didn't sound like a genuine laugh she heard from him whenever he'd hear a joke from Alois...

It sounded so maniacal... As if he was not even human at all... but at the same time...

It also sounded sad.... _Almost a sob even..._

She was getting annoyed with him (and rightfully so) very quickly again. 

He finally spoke after laughing so manically. "Hah! Why would something like that even matter to you?"

"Well duh! I care about you Dimitri!" Byleth wasn't having it.

"It's silly of you to think that you should bother at all caring for a beast like myself. Beasts don't have emotions."

"No you aren-"

"I am. Besides, you only want me around because I'm strong and can help you get that Archbishop back."

The atmosphere got very heavy after he said that.

Dimitri felt guilty almost immediately but the ghosts forced him to keep his mouth shut. 

Byleth finally said something. She angrily mumbled. "I know that's not what you believe..."

"What?" Dimitri asked since he didn't hear her.

Byleth looked up at him, looked absolutely furious with him and rightfully stood up for herself like she should. "I know that's not what you believe! Dimitri, you're my friend and I care about you. You have no right to accuse me of such things! Isn't it obvious that I consider you my friend at this rate?"

Dimitri was lost for words. He wasn't sure how to respond to her.

She is right. He knows that she is telling the truth here but... Why? Why does she have to care?

Then again... That is one of the many reasons why he is in love with her and he knows he still is even after five years.

Byleth looked back at him. "Tell me Dimitri, do you really believe that? Believe that I only want you around because of the archbishop?"

Dimitri forgot about the ghosts when he heard her speak like that and instinctively gave her his true answer. "Of course I don't believe that, how could-"

**_" B E A S T "_ **

The demonic voices interrupted him again...

They tried to take control of him and his heart again...

This time however, Dimitri struggled and tried to fight it.

However...

"ℍ𝕖𝕙. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟?"

Dimitri's eyes widened when that voice spoke.

It spooked him to no end.

He looked around his surroundings after hearing that familiar, teenage voice.

That voice sounded so familiar but... There was no way...

And how could a young, teenage voice like that.....

Sound so haunting and terrifying to anyone...?

"ℙ𝕗𝕗𝕥, ℂ𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕖? 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕪𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕜𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕀 𝕜𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖! 𝕆𝕙 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕟𝕠... 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔼𝕝 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕀 𝕘𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕝𝕕. 𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀'𝕞 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣... 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕒𝕤."

Dimitri looked next to Byleth and he...

...He finally identified who that voice belonged to and.. the owner seemed to be walking closer and closer to him...

It was the voice and ghost of someone he thinks died.

But... he looked even more terrified to see that ghost then he has ever been when he is seeing any other ghost.

...?!

_How..._

_Why are they here?_

Dimitri was always terrified of seeing them at all.

He walked backwards and then accidentally tripped over backwards out of shock.

Byleth looked alarmed from him randomly falling like that. She helped him get up. "Dimitri! Are you ok?"

"𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕜?" The haunting ghost smirked and looked at Dimitri with those "soulless" eyes.

He looked down again to see that same ghost, a bit far behind where Byleth was and Dimitri just couldn't believe it.

The ghost started walking closer which freaked him out.

"𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖?" The ghost taunted him.

Dimitri covered his eyes with his hands which confused Byleth even more.

"𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟. 𝕀𝕥𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦. 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥..."

"STOP!" He screamed only at the haunting ghost and didn't give eye contact with Byleth but instead towards the ghost because he had forgotten she was there at this point. He didn't intend for her to hear that and he unintentionally made that look a bit obvious and Byleth caught it.

Byleth was shocked. She never seen him act like this before. Dimitri has acted out of it since she first saw him in Ethereal Moon but... This was a whole new story. It was like he was talking to someone else....

 _"Was there...someone else here or something? He's yelling while looking at something else entirely...? Was this... the unseen forces Gilbert was talking about?"_ Byleth wondered.

"Dimitri! Tell me what's going on!"

Byleth wasn't even thinking straight when she demanded for him to tell her. It was out of desperation right there.

"𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙 𝕡𝕖𝕥, 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟."

He seemed even more conflicted when he realised that she was still there and heard him yell at the ghost.

"Yeah Dimitri, why not tell her more about our family too huh?" He heard another voice and looked back at the terrifying ghost only to also see his step mother suddenly appearing. She was hugging the terrifying ghost like some kitten. Both ghosts looked at him with smirks on their faces.

He just remained scared and silent.

Byleth so desperately wants to understand what is making him act like this.

"ℍ𝕖𝕪 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥, 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝕎ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝕄𝔸𝕂𝔼𝕊 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔹𝔼𝕃𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℝ𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕋𝕆 ℂℝ𝕐?!"

Dimitri puts his hands on his face and turns away from Byleth and the ghost.

Byleth gently puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Dimitri, please, I want to help. Don't tell me what's wrong if you don't want to but...please don't force yourself to suffer like this!"

Dimitri looked back at her.

This didn't stop that ghost from taunting him.

"𝔸𝕨𝕨𝕨, 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟! ℍ𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕤𝕠𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣... ℍ 𝕆 𝕎 𝔸 𝔻 𝕆 ℝ 𝔸 𝔹 𝕃 𝔼 ! "

Dimitri then looked back at the ghost, lost eye contact with Byleth and angrily snapped at the ghost. "I DON'T BELIEVE I DESERVE KINDNESS FROM ANYONE SO SHUT UP!"

"What?" Now Byleth really had no idea what he was talking about, what was going on or if he was even talking to her due to his lack of eye contact with her again...

Dimitri then looked at Byleth, who didn't intend to say that in front of her. That was meant to be for that ghost, not her.

"Professor.. Sorry, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to...-" He cut himself off, making Byleth even more suspicious of him.

If he wasn't talking to her...then who was he talking to exactly?

As for Dimitri, he knew the voices would get much worse if he told Byleth about them...

He couldn't believe he almost let that slip....

 _"Professor, I want to escape from this villain ghost."_ He found himself thinking that to himself.

Somehow the ghost could also read minds. Or his mind at least.

"ℂ𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖? ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕦𝕟𝕦𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥. 𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕝 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔼𝕝'𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣?"

 _"Stop... Go away..."_ Dimitri thought to himself. He so desperately wanted the ghost to go away.

"𝔸𝕨𝕨𝕨... 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣? ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕥?"

Dimitri suddenly could hear other ghosts such as his father, step mother, Glenn and many other victims from that day, chanting in his ears.

**_" Y O U D O N T D E S E R V E H E R "_ **

**_" K I L L T H E M A L L "_ **

"𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕡𝕖𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣? 𝔸 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕚𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕚𝕥?" The teenage ghost continued to mock him.

Byleth instinctively put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him but she didn't know what to say.

She wasn't really sure about a lot of things but what did she know that what he has said to or about her, was not what was actually in his heart.

Dimitri gently put Byleth's hand off him and started leaving.

"Please...Leave me alone." He said more softly under his breath.

"What?" Byleth couldn't hear him since he said that very faintly.

"I'm leaving the training grounds. I must be on my own for now." He said softly and walked away from her.

But Dimitri's thoughts and feelings told a different story...

_"Professor... Someone... Anyone... Tell me... How do I escape from this hell...?"_

"𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝?" The ghost challenged him as he left.

Dimitri looked back at the ghost who was no longer walking towards him. It was just standing there, a bit far from Byleth and was just being hugged by his stepmother's demonic ghost. The ghost started to fade away, in his step mother's arms....

He knows- No.. He remembers that ghost so well...

That ghost was... _himself..._

Or to put it more specifically... _His ghost from the day before the tragedy. The day before he lost everything._

 _The person he was the day before the tragedy..._ **_was also a victim of that tragedy._ **

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry if you guys are confused on this part but It is actually kind of the point of the ghost here. To be confusing...
> 
> I got the idea to do Dimitri's child self as a ghost from a comic I read that (I didn't make it the same as that comic though, I wanted to use the concept in a different and more extreme way) and this artist is known as Fe-Oleo. They're very talented and please give them the support they deserve(:
> 
> ...ANYWAYS! Thanks for reading guys and see you in the next part. :)


	59. Withered Flowers

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Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place on the ninth of the Pegasus Moon. Takes place after "Hidden" part. The location at the beginning is not far from Byleth's quarters.

\-----

_Byleth and Petra spent time relaxing in the sauna for a while._

When they got out, they both felt refreshed especially since Petra loves the heat.

"Thank you Professor for joining me. I am now feeling refreshing!" Petra stretched one of her arms as she said that.

"No problem! It actually felt nice to relax there. I should maybe go to that sauna more often."

"Oh I have an idea! How about you take Dim- um no I mean His Highness, to the sauna! Maybe take Alois too since I've never seen someone laugh so hard whenever he hears Alois's jokes."

Byleth didn't agree with that. There was absolutely no way he'd agree at this point in time. "...I don't know if he would be up for it."

"Well, he always seems tense and stressed all the time from what I could see. Maybe he could spend time in the sauna to help himself relax!"

Well now that Petra put it like that, it doesn't sound like that bad of an idea. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try...right?

Byleth shook her head. "Maybe. I'll try maybe a bit later on but I doubt that he will say anything about it. Anyways, I'm going to fish for a while. I'll see you later!"

"See you later!" Petra waved goodbye and headed in the opposite direction that Byleth went.

Byleth quickly first goes into her quarters since it's on the way there. She then decided to take off her necklace that she was wearing and then placed it on the table.

She was about to leave until she heard a voice close by.

"Dedue...Why? I'm so... I'm so sorry... Why?"

Byleth despite feeling refreshed and warm just a second ago, suddenly felt a cold shiver down her spine.

"...I'll avenge you Dedue...I promise!"

There was the sobbing voice again. Byleth already knew who this voice belonged to which broke her heart.

This voice was coming from Dedue's old room, which was right next to Byleth's room.

Byleth left her room and saw that Dedue's room had it's door slightly open. She gently opened the door more.

And there was the owner of the voice...

Dimitri...was that owner.

Byleth wasn't at all surprised because she already recognised the voice but...

It didn't stop her heart from sinking.

And it got worse.. Dimitri was crying.

She had never seen him cry before.

Not even once.

And now...It made her want to cry as well..

Not only because of Dimitri crying but also because she is still in shock about Dedue's death even though she's only kept that to herself.

Dimitri looked up a little bit and felt a bit off all of a sudden.

_"That's..._ She's here again...."

He suddenly turned around to face Byleth. "Was there something you wanted from me?"

Byleth was caught off guard by that. She had only just realised that she was selfishly staring at Dimitri crying and she also realised that she was thinking about memories with Dedue.

Dimitri didn't look happy at all with her spying on him like this...

Byleth accepted his anger here since she felt like he had every right to be frustrated with her about this; she had stumbled into a private moment. She took a deep breath and finally answered. "I heard something...from this room. I wanted to see what it was I didn't mean to stare...I'm sorry...about Dedue...I..."

Byleth couldn't even finish what she had to say because she couldn't even find the right words. She just didn't have the strength to talk about Dedue because she couldn't believe Dedue was dead either.

Dimitri looked down to the ground for a while without saying anything.

**_" S T A Y A W A Y F R O M H E R "_ **

**_" O T H E R W I S E S H E ' LL D I E L I K E D E D U E D I E D "_ **

Dimitri heard another ghost's voice, it sounded like Glenn...

His tears fall down from his eyes without him even realising it.

Byleth noticed this. "Dimitri! Are..-"

He looked up at her. "If you want to chat with someone then chat with someone who is able to chat with you because I can't chat with anyone."

He rushes past her before she could say anything and walks away.

"Professor...Stay away from a monster like me.." He quietly mumbled this to himself so Byleth didn't hear.

Byleth didn't know what to think or feel right now but one thing for certain...After seeing Dimitri like that and remembering Dedue is actually gone... It was hard to feel refreshed anymore..

\-----


	60. A Gift for Her

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place on the 12th of Pegasus Moon/Byleth's Birthday. Takes place after the "Hidden" part and "Withered Flowers" part. Recommended for you to read "The Prince's Birthday" part, "The Professor's Birthday" part, "Sitri & Flowers" part and "Returned" part.

\-----

_Even if it was Byleth's Birthday, everyone still needed to train._

Still though, Byleth was wishing that Dimitri would show up to train with everyone at least today.

But of course...He never showed up and she felt foolish to think otherwise.

On the bright side, she still got some wonderful presents from some people such as tea leaves from Mercedes & Annette, Fish from Flayn once again, books from Ashe & Ingrid, a kind letter from Gilbert and some arrows from Shamir.

While not everyone was able to give her a gift due to the events that are happening right now, she was still very happy to get gifts at all and for people to say "Happy birthday" to her.

And yet...it still didn't feel right.

Byleth wondered if it was because of the fact that the 20th of Horsebow Moon was her actual birthday.

It was hard to tell, especially since today was actually Sothis' birthday and not truly her birthday but even so, she still didn't want to tell people that her birthday was actually on the 20th of Horsebow Moon. All it would do is just complicate things more.

But even back at her last birthday, she knew that it wasn't her actual birthday...

Regardless, in the afternoon, when training was over, she went to the Cathedral first out of curiosity to see if a _certain someone_ was there.

Except he wasn't there surprisingly...

She turned around and as she was about to leave, she saw Dimitri walking out of the reception hall to the Cathedral.

He didn't see her, he was just looking down and mumbling to himself.

She ran up to him and tried to get his attention. "Hello Dimitri."

He heard her and when he did, he looked up at her.

He sighed. "What?"

This tone of his made Byleth a bit frustrated. "I just wanted to know where you ran off to, that's all."

DImitri looked away. "Why would you even care?" 

Byleth started to lose her patience due to Dimitri's ridiculous behaviour. "Well I wanted to know if-"

Dimitri cut her off, immediately assuming what she was going to say. "I wasn't going to go to Ailell now if that's what you're thinking. I may be a mindless beast but not mindless enough to go there now."

"I wasn't going to ask that...I was just curious to see how your day was and if you're doing alright."

"Whatever. Just quit wasting time with me on your birthday."

"You- Wait... you remembered today was my...?" Byleth was taken by surprise to hear those words.

"Of course I did. I do lo-..." Dimitri realised what he said and was furious with both himself and Byleth.

He could also feel glares from ghosts that weren't even there at that moment. He knew that they would scream at him for what he did today and for wasting his time.

 _"It's understandable for why I'd get yelled at for something like this. Urgh....She..I wish she would- Grrr."_ He thought to himself.

Dimitri shook his head. "Just, I'd rather be alone. It's pointless for you to talk to me."

"But Dimitri! It's not poi-"

 ** _" Y O U ' R E P A T H E T I C_** "

Dimitri flinched to hear those demonic voices cut off Byleth again. He definitely needed her to leave him alone now at this point.

"Please Just...go." He said softly.

Byleth felt sad but she did what he asked.

So she went back to her quarters, still wanting to know why she still feels odd.

When she got there, she saw something left in front of her door.

It looked like some bouquet of flowers of some sort. It seemed like it was a present from someone.

She went down to pick them up and when she did, she realised what type they were.

Her favourite type of flowers, the Valerian flowers.

They looked so beautiful...

There was a card that said. "Happy Birthday, Professor."

But it didn't say who it was from...

When Byleth looked at the flowers and then looked back at the card, it hit her.

_The handwriting..._

_The flower type..._

Dimitri was the one who gave her this!

Very small number of people knew her favourite flower type and Dimitri was one of those few who knew.

Not only that but...the handwriting on the card looked exactly like his. She's seen his handwriting many times during the officers academy when marking his work.

It was definitely a birthday present from Dimitri.

She smiled at the thought, she put the bouquet on her table and got one of the Valerian Flowers out of the bouquet.

When she was holding one valerian flower, she decided to go back into the Cathedral and thank Dimitri.

When she got there, she saw him looking down, in front of the shattered pieces in the Cathedral and mumbling to himself again.

She felt sick seeing him like that, she knew she shouldn't have left him there...

She went up to him and tried to get his attention.

"Dimitri!"

He snapped out of it and looked at her. He let out a sad sigh. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

He then looked down at the flower that she was holding, he gulped a bit. " _It seemed like she figured it out..."_

"I just wanted to give you this flower and I wanted to say thank you for the beautiful gift..." She smiled.

Dimitri's heart was beating even faster now when he saw her smile again. It made him...so frustrated that she thinks he deserved seeing her smile like that.

**_" Y O U D O N ' T D E S E R V E H E R S M I L E "_ **

He looked away from her. "Save that smile for someone who deserves it..."

She went over to him and kept her smile. "But you do deserve a smile."

"Please just leave me alone..."

Byleth didn't leave this time, she knew that something didn't feel right. Her smile fell as she spoke. "I'm sorry Dimitri but...I...."

She didn't even know what to say at the moment.

 _"Please...Don't leave me. I'm so scared... I..."_ He thought to himself.

The voices responded to those thoughts and got furious with him. **_" M O N S T E R "_**

Dimitri sighed again. "Fine. I'll leave then."

Dimitri started to walk away with conflicting thoughts. _"Professor..."_

"Then-"

"Don't follow me. Just have a day of birthday celebration. I need to be on my own." Dimitri sighed.

Byleth looked down. It seemed like she just kept making everything worse for him. "Ok... but I want you to work on getting better, ok? I'm worried about you."

Dimitri looked at her, he sighed again. "I'm leaving."

But Dimitri's thoughts said otherwise. _"I don't want to live like this. I want to do better than this."_

**_" Y O U H A V E T O "_ **

Dimitri had a sad look on his face when he quietly mumbled. "I know."

Byleth frowned. What she did just then felt weird, but also...she was just so keen to interact with Dimitri somehow.

She hated seeing him suffer, it was heartbreaking for her because she knew there was so much happening that he couldn't share. She wanted to do something for him but she has no idea what she should do at this point and now she wasn't sure she even had the knowledge or strength to know what to do - as his professor and as his friend.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope this part turned out alright in the end but I'm not entirely confident it did. Still though, thanks for reading anyways :)


	61. Humour

\-----

Pre timeskip, Takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place on the fifteenth of Pegasus Moon. Takes place after "Hidden" part, "Withered Flowers" part & "A Gift for Her" part. References "Refusal" part and "A Gift for Her" part. Very minor spoilers for certain monastery dialogues in Silver Snow (nothing that spoils the game though).

\-----

_When training was once again finished for the day, Byleth went into the Cathedral._

She didn't try to talk to Dimitri though. Instead she leaned on one of the poles while still standing up.

She seemed slightly stressed out because of the plans for the mission ahead. She did occasionally look at Dimitri and everyone else present in the room for no reason but most of the time, she was just mumbling to herself while randomly looking at the ground.

After a small while, she suddenly felt someone's hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Hello!" An eager voice was also heard.

Both of these sudden actions startled her and caused her to quickly turn around.

This person behind was Dorothea.

Dorothea seemed to be in a cheerful mood which was a bit refreshing since the atmosphere has been pretty gloomy lately.

Dorothea apologised for startling her while still being cheerful. "Oops! Sorry Bylie! I didn't mean to scare you! I just wanted to talk."

"Oh hello Dor- uh did you just call me Bylie?" Byleth realised mid-way that Dorothea did not refer to her as an unfamiliar strange name which caused her to slightly flinch.

Dorothea smiled and blushed a bit. "Yes, I did. While there will still be times I'll call you professor, I'd like to give you a nickname you know just like I gave my former classmates, if you don't mind me doing that of course..."

Byleth nodded. "I don't mind. Feel free to call me that."

Dorothea eyes brightened. "Great! Though I did admittedly have another nickname in mind but it didn't sit quite well with me especially since it doesn't sound like your name..."

"Oh? What was it?" Byleth was curious to see what other nickname Dorothea had in mind.

Byleth's response made Dorothea giggle a little bit.

"Haha Curious Bylie? Well I was eating some candy and when doing so... I for some reason thought of the name Bubbles, It's strange, I'm not even sure why..." Dorothea wondered.

Byleth felt a bit odd about this...unique discussion but she shrugged it off. "...Anyways uh Dorothea, did you need me for anything?"

Dorothea lifted her head up higher in realisation. "Oh Right! Yes I did Professor, I have a perfect impersonation of someone and I'd love for you to hear it!"

"Oh um.. ok? Who is it of?" Byleth asked.

"You know that gatekeeper in the marketplace, outside in front of the monastery? That happy guy?" Dorothea clarified.

"Um yes, you're doing one of him?" Byleth wasn't expecting Dorothea to do one of him of all people.

Dorothea looked proud. "Indeed!"

"Ok, I'd like to hear it though, I must ask Dorothea...Was there any particular reason you wanted me to hear it?"

Dorothea looks a bit pale which made Byleth immediately regret asking. "Oh Dorothea! I didn't mean to sound-"

Dorothea cuts her off and speaks in a soft tone. "No, no I know what you mean. You just seemed a bit lost in thought and the atmosphere is rather heavy all the time now. I wanted to cheer you up a bit."

Byleth said nothing for a short while until she smiled and finally said something. "That's sweet of you, thanks Dorothea."

"N'awww, no problem Bylie. Well anyways, I'll start it in three...two...one..."

Dorothea cleared her throat before she said anything and then talked in a very...unique voice that sounded quite like that gatekeeper. "Hey, Professor, thanks for your hard work again! Nothing to report today!"

Byleth tried to not laugh... but it wasn't easy. To her, that impersonation was both perfect and hilarious.

She eventually gave in and unintentionally burst out laughing....quite loudly in fact. "Thats...that's the best thing I've ever heard. Dorothea...I..."

She wasn't even sure why it was so funny, it just was.

Dorothea chuckled a little bit at Byleth's response. After a bit, she spoke in a bit of an excited tone. "Was I convincing? Was it like he was standing right in front of you?"

Byleth nodded, still laughing a bit.

There were some faint laughs from elsewhere in the room.

"I say Dorothea, that was quite a perfect impersonation." Alois walked next to Byleth and Dorothea, surprising them both.

It seemed like he heard that impersonation and quite liked it.

Dorothea nodded and chuckled. "Hehe, Thank you Alois."

Dorothea slightly tilted her head down a bit though and her smile slightly fell. "Some things are the same as they were five years ago, but I guess a lot more has changed..."

Alois nodded. "Yeah that is true but despite that, there is no harm in being in a good mood and having fun with one another from time to time."

"Be careful..."

....?

There was a deep, broken voice that came from behind Byleth. When she, Dorothea and Alois turned toward where the voice came from...it came from someone who was walking towards Byleth from behind.

This person was Dimitri.

He stopped walking when he was a bit closer to the three of them and spoke. "There is a certain someone here that we shouldn't trust."

He then pointed at Dorothea, which meant that he was talking about her being untrustworthy.

Dorothea quickly hated this confrontation. "Excuse me?"

Dimitri clarified. "You, that blue haired fool and someone else were all in that witch's class, correct?"

"...That's the reason you don't trust me? Are you being serious right now?"

"Are you denying that you were in that Witch's class?"

Dorothea bit her lip. "No I was in Edie's class but-"

Dimitri cut her off and snorted. "Edie? You gave the witch a cute friendly nickname?...I knew it... You are going to betray this army. You're just some spy for those imperial thugs."

"I give everyone a nickname. Not just her! And, I'll never work for the Imperial Army! I choose to stay here!"

"Hmph. You're probably lying. Sure you killed some Imperial soldiers from what I've seen but I know those thugs would sacrifice their friends' lives just to deceive us in the end. You're no different to those Imperial villains."

Dorothea was losing more patience. "I'm NOTHING like those guys! Dimitri, stop saying this to me just because I was in Edelgard's class!"

Alois quickly jumped in. "Your Highness, we believe in her and so does the professor. There is absolutely no way someone like Dorothea would ever betray us."

Dimitri smirked manically. "Heh. What makes you so sure? She'll probably betray us at any second."

"Dimitri, stop it! You need to stop talking to people like this! You shouldn't be suspicious of Dorothea, she'd never do that!" Byleth snapped.

"I have every right to be suspicious of her." Dimitri said.

Dorothea's patience was getting worse. "Quit accusing me you...you..!"

"I...what?" Dimitri crossed his arms.

"You _bear_!" Dorothea couldn't think of anything to call him.

No one at all was expecting said insult.

Byleth was first to say something and completely ignored what Dorothea called him. She spoke a bit more softly and tried to ease the situation a bit. "...Well um...Dimitri listen, I believe in her and I know she'd never do that. You need to calm down."

"She hasn't proved her loyalty yet. She'll betray us, you need to stop being so trustworthy of others." Dimitri looked down at the ground.

Alois even at a time like this, had a joke under his sleeve. He didn't even hesitate to say it. "Trust me Dimitri, she won't **BEAR-TRAY** us."

.....

No one said anything. Byleth, Dorothea and Dimitri stared at him.

Thankfully the atmosphere wasn't heavy anymore or at least not _as_ heavy.

Alois didn't look like he was going to stop with the bear puns. "Sorry, that was quite a heh.. **UNBEARABLE** pun. Just **BEAR** with me."

Dimitri slightly chuckled to himself at the terrible pun.

It wasn't maniacal either, it was genuine.

Byleth and Dorothea, despite being unamused from that terrible joke, noticed that Dimitri was chuckling.

Dimitri looked up at them and realised that they caught him laughing. He stopped.

"Was that a laugh?" Dorothea quickly asked.

He sighed and walked away. He didn't even bother answering that question.

Byleth and Dorothea exchanged looks.

Dorothea sighed. "He...has a point. I hate to admit it but I don't blame him for not trusting me."

Byleth quickly reassured Dorothea. "Don't worry, I trust you and all of us do. Dimitri just..."

Byleth cut herself off with a sigh and then spoke again. "I'm...worried about him."

Dorothea smiled at her. "Wow...Bylie.. You really do care about him huh?"

"Yeah...I do..."

"Well Bylie... I hope you aren't worried about him because you feel like it's your job or something like that.."

Byleth shook her head. "No Dorothea, I'm worried about him because like you said I truly care about him. Friends...look out for each other. I consider him as a dear friend..and I consider you a dear friend to me too Dorothea."

Dorothea grinned and gave Byleth a tackle hug. "Aww Bylie, you're too adorable! Ok! So we better keeping being best friends forever, ok?!"

Byleth couldn't help but smile at the suggestion. "Ok...I'd like that Dorothea."

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've been wanting to do this part for soo long oh my god. Now let's quickly address a few things...
> 
> Dorothea's nickname "Bylie" for Byleth is not actually canon in the game. However that will be a nickname that Dorothea (and potentially others) will call Byleth occasionally in parts that take place after this part. And the nickname itself? Doesn't really have a meaning like Hapi's nickname for Byleth. It's just meant to be a more shortened way of saying Byleth's name. That's all really lol.
> 
> And the moment about Dorothea thinking of the nickname "Bubbles" while eating candy is a reference to a certain other fire emblem game. If you know or get the reference, please comment what you think it is. I'd love to see if at least one person understood it lol.
> 
> And now about the dialogue she mentions about Gatekeeper. Some of it is actually in the game but only available in certain routes which are Silver Snow and maybe Verdant Wind (I may be wrong about VW though so please keep that in mind) but it's not in Azure Moon.
> 
> Anywho, Byleth and Dorothea are a bit ooc, I know. Also yes those bear puns were forced, I know but slightly the point kind of aha.
> 
> Anyways I wanted to write something a bit more lighthearted but still an emotional/confronting part regardless. I hope you enjoyed it!


	62. The Face Beneath (Paralogue)

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place after "Hidden" part, "Withered Flower" part, "A Gift for Her" part & "Humour" part. Takes place on the 17th of Pegasus Moon. References Mercedes' support with Felix. Based on "The Face Beneath" paralogue.

\-----

_Byleth was standing around in the dining hall for a while._

Training for the day was well over and she ate some food when it was over but even when she was finished, she didn't leave the room.

She had no idea why she stayed there for so long. She just...did.

After some time however, Mercedes went into the room and accidentally bumped into her.

Mercedes was the first to apologise. "Oh my! Sorry, I did- Oh Professor! Hello! I haven't seen you in a few hours!"

Byleth turned around to see Mercedes, cheerful as ever. "Hello Mercedes. Sorry I...I lost track of time and you know....Just thinking thoughts I suppose."

Mercedes looked down. What Byleth was thinking of was painfully obvious to her. "Have your thoughts being getting you down, Professor?"

Byleth frowned. "In a way... I've just been thinking about the battlefield and mission if I'm being honest. . Anyways sorry, I didn't see you there."

Mercedes quickly shook her head. "Oh no, don't worry it's not your fault at all! I wasn't looking where I was going so it's my fault entirely. Anyways, uh...are you...feeling alright?"

Byleth turned her head slightly, she was a bit confused. "Hmm?"

"You seem a bit down. Oh! Why don't we have a little tea party?! That always gets me in a better mood!"

There was someone running towards the dining hall but neither Byleth nor Mercedes noticed.

Byleth looked even more confused at what Mercedes suggested. "A...a tea party?"

"Yes! Me and Annie always have one whenever we are feeling a bit down. Of course though, I do not let her...bake but when we relax and have a tea party with one another, it's quite relaxing!"

"Hmm...That sounds nice... Sure, I'd like that!"

Mercedes looked even more cheerful than before. "Sweet! Well we-"

Caspar ran in the dining out of nowhere and ran straight to Byleth and Mercedes.

They both looked at him. He was very alerted. "Professor! Mercedes! What are you two doing here?"

Mercedes was a bit weirded out when she answered Caspar's question. "Um, we were just talking. Why do you look so flustered?"

"Haven't you heard? An Imperial army was spotted near Garreg Mach!"

Byleth now felt worse when he said that especially since she was literally thinking about the mission.

Mercedes on the other hand, didn't look concerned at all. "Oh. Do you think they came to scout?"

Caspar clearly didn't know the answer to that question. "Maybe? We could probably take care of 'em if that's the case..."

Then Caspar looked more concerned and serious when he spoke again. "But I heard the Death Knight is out there!"

Mercedes now suddenly looked worried.

Well not exactly worried but more sad if anything. She looked down, with a bit of a glum look on her face and then finally spoke. "The Death Knight..."

Both Caspar and Byleth noticed how Mercedes suddenly got sad when Caspar mentioned the Death Knight.

Byleth remembered the Death Knight.

_The one in the Holy Tomb..._

_The one who kidnapped Flayn..._

_The one who helped Solon destroy Remire Village..._

_And the same one who always slightly scared her due to the fact that he always seemed to take unusual pleasure in the fights he had with her and only her. It was quite odd and a bit scary..._

Byleth felt silly for being surprised that he is an Imperial General because Edelgard was the Flame Emperor and the Flame Emperor was always working with him.

However, one thing Byleth noticed every time when it came to the Death Knight was that Mercedes would always look....off.

Sure, the Death Knight was concerning and all but Mercedes has dealt with far worse than him.

Something...must have happened.

Byleth couldn't resist asking Mercedes about it. "Is that a problem?

Mercedes was taken aback from this question and stuttered. "N-no. It's nothing. Really..."

Mercedes took a deep breath and then spoke again. "Now's probably not the time, but I was just thinking of my brother."

"You have a brother?" Caspar was shocked.

Mercedes nodded. "Yes but we have different fathers. He was a year younger than me."

"Why'd he suddenly come to mind?"

Mercedes looked more gloomy now. "You see-"

Mercedes was interrupted by one of the knights, trying to alert them about this situation more. "Quickly! You must prepare for battle! The Death Knight has been spotted in the Sealed Forest!"

 _"The...Sealed Forest?"_ Byleth thought to herself.

Just the words alone of that place makes her shake. Byleth **despised** that place. All it did was bring back horrible memories of when she tried to get revenge on Kronya.

The knight continued. "He only has a few troops with him, so we planned on taking him out with just the knights, but... We can't guarantee that reinforcements won't arrive. We could appreciate your backup, just in case."

The knight left the three of them there.

Mercedes seemed concerned. "The Death Knight... I have to go..."

Caspar was immediately alarmed by this statement. "Mercedes, wait! I don't know what's going on with you, but..."

Mercedes shook her head. "No! I have to go see him!"

Byleth didn't really understand why Mercedes would want to but...she feels like...she should let Mercedes do so. "Let's go with her."

Caspar agreed. "Yeah, we can't let him get away! I'll help Mercedes find the Death Knight!"

Caspar then suggested an idea for Byleth to do. "You go gather the others and meet up with us, Professor!"

Byleth nodded and then Caspar and Mercedes ran in the opposite direction that Byleth ran in.

\-----

Byleth, Dimitri, Annette, Felix, Alois, Shamir, Hilda & Hapi eventually arrived to the entrance of the forest.

There were demonic beasts everywhere around them.

But there is no sign of Mercedes, Caspar or the Death Knight.

Annette was very anxious for her friend. "Professor...You don't think that Caspar and Mercie...?"

Byleth immediately shook her head. "Don't say such things Annette. They're alive for sure."

Then they could all hear a soft voice. It was Mercedes' voice!

"Emile, wait! Don't go!"

Felix's eyes widened when he heard Mercedes say that name. "What?! He is...no, It couldn't be. Just my imagination..."

No one had a clue on what Felix was talking about.

Annette spotted Mercedes and smiled. She pointed towards where Mercedes was. "Oh! There's Mercie! And..."

Annette's smile fell and then she looked troubled when she saw who was with her.

The Infamous Death Knight.

Mercedes was running up to him, she looked a bit desperate but in a heartbreaking type of way.

She wasn't done speaking though. "Take your helmet off. Please. Let me see your face. It really is you under there, isn't it? I've been searching for so long..."

Caspar ran to her side, he looked absolutely exhausted from chasing after her. "I finally caught up with you, Mercedes. You're faster than you look..."

He then regained his composure and gave the Death Knight a threatening look. "But I'm here now, so you can give up, Death Knight!"

The Death Knight said nothing, he just gave them a blank stare.

Not too different to a stare that Byleth would do in her mercenary days...

"Those fools! They're going to get themselves killed!" Felix was in the feelings of concern and anger right there and then.

Dimitri sighed in frustration. "Well they were silly to think they could reason with a beast like the Death Knight, we sho-"

He got cut off by Alois. "Everyone, watch out!"

They all realised that the Imperial Soldiers finally showed up.

Dimitri yelled at everyone. "It's a trap! Damn, You all need to-"

"Ok.. Calm down Didi. Chatterbox, how can we get out of this situation?" Hapi looked pale.

Byleth eyed everyone. "We need to help Mercedes and Caspar and eliminate all of the soldiers here except for the Death Knight."

Hilda couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. "Wait what? Did you hit your head or something Professor? Why in the world are we letting the Death Knight live? He is an Imperial General!"

"Because Mercedes... seems to know him, I want to let her at least talk to him about what it is she needs to say at the very least. Maybe she could even reason with him."

"Ha! I've never heard such a horrible joke before Professor. The Death Knight is a shameless coward who only cares about ruining as much lives as possible. There is no reasoning with a bastardly monster as himself." Dimitri crossed his arms and looked down to the ground.

Everyone looked down and looked as if they agreed with him.

"Um sorry Professor but I think I agree with His Highness on this one. There is absolutely no way that someone like the Death Knight can be reasoned with whether or not Mercedes and him have some kind of bond." Annette shook her head.

"Graaaagh!" The demonic beast roared out.

"We don't have the time to chat, we must stay vigilant!" Shamir pointed out.

Byleth nodded and everyone started to charge towards the enemies.

Though a lot of these soldiers were Mages and Heavy armoured knights. Annette & Alois were the ones who focused on the

As they got through and through, Byleth felt sick to her stomach.

She hated this forest so much.

She really did...

She still can't believe that she even sacrificed her students' lives just so she can avenge her own father...

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it right now...

"You're that one-eyed demon aren't you?" One of the imperial soldiers yelled at Dimitri when they caught a glimpse of him.

Dimitri and the Imperial Soldier clashed weapons. This caused Byleth and him to be separated as a result.

Meanwhile she was close to where Alois and Annette were.

They were on that _part_ of this forest...

Where Kronya and her went sent away by Solon.

She really wanted to vomit.

So much that she didn't even notice that there was a mage there...Behind her.

The mage started to charge up fire spells towards Byleth from behind.

Annette yelled out. "No Professor! Behind you!"

Byleth quickly turned around but it was too late, the fire magic spells were casted....

She shielded herself from those flames but...

Then she didn't feel them.

The mage was struck by a few arrows.

Those arrows were from Shamir's bow.

She ran to Byleth's side and they fought the remaining soldiers around them...together.

It kind of reminded Byleth when something similar happened during that fight with the pirates years ago...

Alois ran up to Shamir and he looked like he was about to over dramatically burst into tears. "Oh Shamir! Thank you, thank you, thank yo-"

Shamir sighed and cut him off. "Calm Down Alois, we are in the middle of a mission. Thank me later."

Alois regained his composure. "Ah yes, right. Well then, how about the four of us take down that demonic beast on the left side of where the Death Knight is."

Byleth smiled and nodded. She felt...oddly comfortable fighting alongside Shamir and Alois.

It just felt...so right but she couldn't tell why.

Regardless, they made their way to the demonic beasts and Mercedes and Caspar ran up to Byleth, Alois, Shamir & Annette.

Meanwhile Dimitri, Hilda, Hapi & Felix focused on the demonic beast on the right side of the forest.

"Professor! Thank goo-"

"Professor!" Alois shielded her with his axe when he saw some reinforcements aiming a javelin at her.

"You gotta be kidding me! What's up with these reinforcements?" Caspar groaned.

Byleth looked towards where the Death Knight was before but he was gone?

"What happened to the Death Knight?" Byleth couldn't resist asking.

Mercedes shook her head. "We will explain later! We must take down these enemy reinforcements!"

"Ughh.. What a pain.." Hilda was heard whining when the enemy reinforcements arrived.

Dimitri, Felix, Hilda and Hapi finally joined up with Byleth and everyone else. They all then started to eliminate the remaining soldiers

\-----

Once the battle was finally over and all the reinforcements were taken down, Mercedes was looking around as if she was searching for something.

Caspar and Byleth went straight to her first thing.

Caspar was the first to talk. "Phew...we did it. Are you all right, Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked at them both and gave them a grateful smile. "I am, thanks to you. But still..."

"There's something you wanted to ask him, right? Come on, he ran off into the forest." Caspar reassured her.

Mercedes' smile grew. "Thank you, Caspar."

Byleth asked. "What happened exactly?"

"I told him I wanted to talk to him about something so he suggested that we talk in the forest." Mercedes answered.

Byleth was immediately alarmed. It didn't sound right. "Isn't that kind of dangerous? It might be a trap to kill you!"

"Perhaps... But Professor, I don't think it is." Mercedes reassured her.

"I'm still going to go with you." Byleth insisted.

"Ok, that's fine. I just want to talk to him."

"I'll come with you, Let's go!" Caspar suggested.

"Heh. I'd like to come with you three. I'd like to have little "talk" with the Death Knight." Dimitri smirked again.

No one really trusted that was what he actually wanted with the Death Knight.

Caspar immediately objected. "Oh hell no! I don't trus-"

Mercedes cut off Caspar and stayed calm. "Dimitri, you and everyone else need to go back to the monastery. We will meet you there."

Dimitri said nothing. He just stared at them.

"Dimitri, please. Do it for our friend. Allow Mercedes to speak to him." Byleth sighed.

He sighed and then started to walk in the direction that the Monastery was in. His tone started to soften. "Hmph. Be careful when meeting him, I wouldn't forgive any of you if you died here..."

"I have no intentions of dying. None of us do." Byleth said back.

"Good." Dimitri sighed again. He put away his sword in his belt and started to leave them all be.

"Woah! I'm surprised that he listened to that." Hilda was shocked.

"Well, we will all meet you back in the Monastery but be careful! You don't know what to expect with the Death Knight." Shamir seemed concerned.

Byleth nodded and with that everyone but Byleth, Caspar and Mercedes starting heading back.

Byleth, Mercedes and Caspar started to walk deep into the forest.

"Oh Mercedes! There he is!" Caspar pointed at the Death Knight who was just up ahead.

They finally made their way to him.

He just stared at them for a while and then finally spoke. "You came..."

Mercedes wasn't sure what to say or think.

_She finally saw him again after so long..._

She finally spoke. "How many years has it been since we last spoke?"

She now looked like she was going to cry. "I'm so sorry... I should have come for you sooner... I'm sure it wasn't pleasant living in House Bartels."

Neither Byleth nor Caspar understand how these two know each other exactly.

Caspar said something though. "I'm not sure I follow. Do you know this guy, Mercedes?"

Mercedes ignored Caspar and continued to softly speak. "My younger brother... Emile... Is it really you?"

.....

Byleth was shocked.

The Death Knight was her brother the whole time?

Caspar was even more shocked. "I'm sorry, what? Your brother is the Death Knight?! But you two look nothing alike!"

The Death Knight was calm. "Mercedes... Leave the monastery."

Caspar got angry at the Death Knight for saying simple words to his sister like that. "Hold on just a minute! Is that all you've got to say for yourself?"

"This doesn't concern you..."

"That's not true! You're her brother, right? But you've got nothing nice to say to her after all this time?"

The Death Knight ignored Caspar and looked at Mercedes. "You will die..."

Mercedes remained calm despite such a frightening statement. "Even if I die, I've made my choice."

She then smiled and looked up at the Death Knight. "Please, Emile. Fight on our side instead."

The Death Knight shook his head which for sure broke Mercedes' heart. "I cannot. My soul has long departed... And yet... Here. Take this and go."

He gave her....a relic of some sorts.

Mercedes stared at the relic that she was now holding and looked back at the Death Knight. "Is this...a Hero's Relic? You and I must share the same Crest."

The Death Knight stared at her again before he spoke. "When next we meet, I will kill you without hesitation."

Mercedes shook her head. "You won't kill me. I have this now."

The Death Knight was done with this conversation. "Do not die until I can kill you..."

He then stopped to glimpse at Byleth and for some reason... Byleth sensed a smirk under that mask of his when he faced her.

Though she couldn't really confirm it.

He then left the three of them, despite Mercedes' protests.

"Emile! I can't believe he's gone again..."

Caspar was confused. "I can't tell whether or not he actually cares that you're his sister..."

"Hmm... Somewhere, hiding underneath that helmet, there's a very sweet boy."

"Is that a joke? Would a "Sweet boy" threaten to kill someone? I don't get you, Mercedes." Caspar didn't understand her for a second.

Mercedes looked down, she looked even more heartbroken now. "Living at House Bartels changed him."

She took a deep breath and faced her head up. She looked at Caspar and genuinely smiled at him. "But that's beside the point. Thank you, Caspar. I couldn't have confronted him without you."

Caspar reassured her. "Don't worry about it. I may not understand you half the time, but we're still pals."

Mercedes played along with that word. "Come on then, pal. Let's get back to everyone else."

Byleth nodded and they made their way back.

_She did wonder though... "When will we encounter the Death Knight again..._

_And...who will live...and who will die..?"_

Such scary thoughts easily took over Byleth's mind.

\-----


	63. Hopes

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place after the "Hidden" part, "Withered Flowers" part, "A Gift for Her" part, "Humour" part and "The Face Beneath" part. References "Hidden" part, "The Professor's Birthday" part, "One's True Feelings Part 2: The Ball & Goddess Tower" part & "Nowhere left to Hide" arc. Takes place on the 22nd of Pegasus Moon.

\-----

_In the evening of that day, Byleth wanted to go to the Goddess Tower to stargaze._

She wasn't really sure why she did exactly. It just... felt relaxing and even nostalgic to do so.

But more so when she is in the Goddess Tower.

She hadn't been there in that tower during the evening for a very, very long time.

Not since her birthday five years ago when Dimitri gave her the necklace she was wearing right now.

She loved that place. How quiet it was, the calm moonlight, the beautiful stars, the breeze... everything!

Stuff like that wouldn't normally fascinate her at all but...

She for some reason was just always happy whenever she was there even if it wasn't often.

So she headed there, when she was finished training for the day.

She had to get through the Cathedral first.

Before she went in, she thought about Dimitri. She wanted to ask if he'd like to join her there but...

The answer was... probably negative.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to try and ask. They both stargazed there twice in the academy days and it was him who invited her there the first time while she found him there the second time.

When she entered the Cathedral, she was surprised to see that Dimitri wasn't there in the Cathedral.

She panicked a little as she mumbled to herself when she realised he wasn't there. "He didn't... He didn't go to Enbarr... did he?"

Byleth shook her head when she realised something else. "No...Even he knows we need to go to Ailell first and talk to Rodrigue...Maybe he's..gone to sleep for the day?

Byleth for some reason, knew that Dimitri didn't do that. Not even he would do something that reckless at times like this.

So she continued to walk where the Goddess Tower was, which was ahead in the left area of the Cathedral.

When she walked up stairs, the breeze was getting windier.

She smiled to herself when she remembered going up here for the first time.

When she finally got on the top, the breeze got even windier and it blew in her face as she started to tilt her head up.

Her eyes widened when she saw something or rather...someone there.

It seemed like she wasn't the only one who had the idea of going to the goddess tower.

The one who was there, alone in the Goddess Tower...was Dimitri.

Byleth really wasn't expecting to see him here.

Dimitri didn't realise she was even here. He was in the opposite direction and had his head up high.

He was staring at the sky, he looked like he was in a different world entirely.

He then realised that she was here and then turned around to look at her. He sighed and had a very broken tone as he spoke. "Why are you here? Did you follow me?"

Byleth shook her head. "No.. I uh...didn't even realise you were here too...I just came here to stargaze, that's all."

Dimitri just stared at her. He seemed a lot more calmer than normal. "Hmph."

He looked back up at the sky. He said nothing to her.

Byleth tried to start a conversation. "The sky and breeze are wonderful today, right?"

Dimitri stayed silent for a while but he eventually responded. "Yes, they...are."

He looked back at her as she stared at the sky too. He recognised something she was wearing.

"That necklace..." Dimitri muttered.

Byleth looked back at him. "Huh?"

"That necklace of yours...Where did you get that from?"

Byleth stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"It looks....oddly...familiar. Where did you get it?" He muttered again.

Byleth bit her lip as she thought to herself. _"Does he not remember giving it to me?_ "

She took a small sigh before she spoke again. "Someone...kindhearted made it for me...and gave it to me in this tower so long ago."

Dimitri was frustrated. He remembered that necklace. He even kept it for five years and then buried it in the garden of the monastery.

And now he knows who she is talking about...

Byleth didn't stop there. "I found out recently that the gemstone is like a lucky charm. It helps one feel better and regain confidence. It makes me love this necklace even more."

"...Does it help you feel better and help you regain confidence?"

**_" W H A T A R E Y O U - "_ **

A voice in Dimitri's head that was about to yell at him was unintentionally cut off by Byleth's voice. She nodded happily with a smile on her face. "Yes. It does."

**".....No....it....didn't....."**

Dimitri tilted his head left towards the direction of where that familiar voice came from.

It was Jeralt's ghost. He hadn't seen his ghost in quite some time.

Dimitri felt scared when he was confronted like this by Jeralt again. It was never something he ever got used to.

Byleth noticed that he started to look frightened from something over there that she couldn't see.

 _"Could it be those...unseen forces again?"_ Byleth eyes widened when she realised what Dimitri might be going through at that moment.

Byleth quickly faced Dimitri. "Dimitri! Please, don't let them-"

Dimitri's broken voice returned. "It didn't make you happy at all. Quit lying to me."

"What?" Byleth asked.

"The one who gave it to you is not kind hearted in the least. Quit believing that."

"Dim-"

"I'm leaving." Dimitri sighed and started to walk away.

The inner voices chanted in his head again. **_" D O N ' T F O R G E T Y O U R G O A L "_**

Dimitri nodded to himself and mumbled. "R-right. I won't."

Dimitri heard Glenn's voice. "Stay away from her. You keep thinking you have the right to live when she is around. But you don't. And. You. Never. **WILL!** "

"Of course Glenn... You're right..." He answered.

_"They're all right...... Damn it! I need to stop forgetting my purpose for goodness sake!"_

\-----


	64. An Unfaded Light

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fourteen and takes place before chapter fifteen. Takes place after the "Hidden" part, "Withered Flowers" part, "A Gift for Her" part, "Humour" part, "The Face Beneath" part & "Hopes" part. Takes place after Byleth & Marianne's A Support. References "Silence" part and references Marianne and Dimitri's supports. Takes place at around 3am on the 25th of Pegasus Moon.

\-----

_Byleth's eyes started to flutter open._

She was lying on the hard ground.

The weather was blazing hot, it felt like Ailell.

Or perhaps...that's where she was right now.

Byleth thought to herself while she started to wake up and stare at the sky. _"What...I don't remember what happened...when did I get to Ailell? How did-"_

**"I'LL DESTROY YOU!"**

Byleth's eyes started to flutter wide open when her thoughts were cut off by someone's voice.

**"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"**

That same voice again...

The voice sounded as if it was in a mix of absolute rage and also heartbreak.

Byleth slowly turned her head towards the direction where it came from which was from her right.

Then her eyes widened when she looked in the direction.

Her vision of where the voice came from was blocked due to the fact that there was another person laying on the ground with their eyes closed.

Their orange hair and stomach was covered in blood.

They weren't breathing or moving either.

Byleth screamed and backed away.

Then she realised...she wasn't in Ailell at all!

The reason why it was so hot was because...there was fire surrounding the area.

She looked around and... she wanted to puke.

The person that was laying on the ground in front of her before was...Annette.

"Annette!" She yelled.

There was obviously no response.

"Wake up! Please!" Byleth checked for her pulse.

There was nothing at all.

She was definitely dead. There was nothing she could do...

Byleth couldn't believe this.

Byleth could then hear the noises of axes and lances clashing from where Annette's corpse was blocking.

Byleth stood up and... she started to wish that she didn't.

Annette's corpse wasn't the only one that was on the ground there.

Everyone's corpse was...

Everyone she knew... dead.

Most corpses had...some axe wound...

_Did Edelgard do this?_

Some didn't even have their whole body. Some were even headless.

It was...traumatising.

The ground was covered in blood.

Then Byleth looked at her hands and they were also covered in her friends' blood from her using her hands to get off the ground.

"...-H-how..what....w-why...I...No...t-this" She stuttered as she stared completely wide eyed at the corpses of all her friends and many other soldiers.....

The only corpse she couldn't find was Dimitri's but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go and find it.

Byleth couldn't even tell where she was even...It was really hard to tell.

**"I'LL KILL YOU!"**

Byleth's attention went to where that broken voice came from...

She realised that...there was a reason why she couldn't find Dimitri's corpse.

That's because...he was the only one not dead.

He was the owner of that voice!

And...he was fighting someone.

Byleth realised who it was he was fighting.

It was Edelgard!

Edelgard was wearing her Flame Emperor armor except for the mask. She and the broken hearted sounding prince.... Were clashing their weapons with one another, desperate to kill the other.

Dimitri was clearly struggling due to Edelgard's heavy armour but it doesn't seem like he has any intentions of giving up.

However it was very obvious he could die at this rate since the lance has done much less damage than Edelgard's axe on his body.

Not to mention, he was covered in wounds.

Dimitri walked backwards, he took a deep breath.

He took a glance from behind and he looked more heartbroken and more furious at the same time.

Byleth watched.

"No..Dimitri....You can't!" Byleth yelled out.

Dimitri ignored Byleth's words.

He looked back at Edelgard and he was outraged. **"I'LL TAKE THAT HEAD FROM YOUR FILTHY SHOULDERS AND GIVE IT TO THE DEAD. I'LL DO IT, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!"**

He then charged up towards Edelgard with his lance.

Byleth instinctively reached her arm towards him despite him being nowhere near her. "Dimitri! No! Stop! You're going to get yourself killed!"

Her words failed to reach Dimitri.

He continued to struggle towards Edelgard's axe.

Byleth yelled again. "Dimitri! Please listen to me! Please... I beg you please!"

Her words didn't change anything once again. 

She was desperate to take measures and then she tried to run towards where Edelgard and Dimitri were fighting.

But when she got close enough, she bumped into something.

She was confused but she tried to go there again

...No luck.

It was like some invisible, magical barrier, force or wall was preventing from interfering.

Like she was completely useless here.

"What no! No! No! This can't be happening, no!"

She tried to break the invisible barrier with the sword of the creator but she ended up breaking the sword instead, causing her to lose her balance and trip over backwards.

She tripped over and fell on someone's body.

Marianne's body...

She screamed when she saw what she fell on and immediately stood up. She ran back to that unusual invisible wall.

**"WHY DID YOU DO SUCH A THING YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER! WHY WOULD YOU CAUSE SUCH TRAGEDIES IN MY LIFE?! WHY DID YOU KILL EVERYONE? EVERYONE IN MY ARMY?!"**

Byleth's attention went to Dimitri when he yelled that out and as he continued to try to kill Edelgard.

She ran to the barrier but she was still unable to go through it. She kept punching the barrier out of desperation.

She even tried to use Divine Pulse...but for some reason...it wouldn't work at all!

Then she saw Edelgard cut Dimitri's shoulder which made her shriek and scream. "DIMITRI! STOP THIS! PLEASE! YOUR GONNA DIE! PLEASE!"

He got up, despite the pain in his shoulder and continued to lunge towards Edelgard with his lance.

**"YOU TOOK MY FAMILY! MY FRIENDS! EVERYONE I LOVED! I'LL NEVER LET YOU LIVE EVEN IF I DIE!"**

Their weapons were clashing but Dimitri was getting more and more out of breath.

Byleth didn't understand. It was as if both Dimitri and Edelgard couldn't hear her. "Dimitri! Can't you hear me! I'm begging you...Please..."

_"You can scream and yell all you want but no one will hear you. You're nonexistent to everyone."_

Byleth didn't know who said that. It sounded kind of like Kronya but she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Byleth ignored the voice and yelled again. "Dimitri!"

He still couldn't hear her. It was like she was some kind of ghost.

_"It's useless. You'll never be heard by anyone. You shouldn't even care anyways, you don't have a heartbeat so you shouldn't even feel anything."_

Byleth confronted whoever this voice belonged to even if she couldn't see them. "I don't know who you are but...I do feel something. I know I do. And I will not let him die here! I care about him! I..I won't..."

_"Do you really believe that you can have the ability to feel anything at all? You might not even have a heart to begin with. Even if you could feel, why would Dimitri believe in a heartless being such as yourself? You'll never be heard from anyone. You're forever useless. You can't even interfere with their fight. You may as well be nonexistent. Makes sense, all you're good for is killing people. You don't even have heart so how are you even human? You're just some...Empty Vessel. You don't mean **anything** to anyone..."_

Edelgard's axe broke Dimitri's lance which caused him to fall backwards.

Byleth tried to get through this invisible force even more but she still couldn't do it.

"No! Dimitri! Don't die! Please!"

Her words were still unheard.

He fell and he struggled trying to get up.

He then looked up and saw that Edelgard was about to swing her axe to draw the final blow.

_No..._

"Farewell King of Delusion. I'll be sure to give the dead your head instead of mine if that makes you feel better."

_No!_

She swung her axe on his neck, gruesomely cutting his head off his body.

Byleth was horrified and shrieked out of instinct from seeing Dimitri gruesomely die.

**_"NO!"_ **

\-----

Byleth's eyes quickly opened and she laid up on her bed.

She was panting due to how awful that nightmare was.

_It was just a dream..._

But that didn't calm her down that much. She kept panting over and over.

She put her hand on her forehead so so she could try and calm down...

But she couldn't...

She felt something come from her eyes...

It was...weird.

It was...tears...

She tried to wipe them away and then laid back down to bed so she could go back to sleep...

But the tears just wouldn't stop...

She just cried and cried from remembering that nightmare...

"Why am I...crying? It wasn't- It wasn't- even re-real. Ca-"

She then started sobbing.

She hadn't cried like this in such a long time.

Not since she lost her father.

"Sothis! Where are you? I don't want to be alo-"

She cut herself off when she realised...that Sothis wasn't here anymore...

Wasn't there to comfort her anymore...

She couldn't sleep, she just kept sobbing.

It felt horrible. She wanted to stop crying...

She doesn't understand how she can feel like this...

She doesn't understand how she is even feeling anything at all...

She just couldn't stop crying...the tears won't leave her alone...

Even if she doesn't have a heartbeat....she was still panting and crying...like an ordinary person...

She...she couldn't stop thinking about it...

She ran out of her quarters.

She doesn't care in the slightest how late it was.... She just ran out...in the dark...she could barely see but still didn't care...

She even bumped into a few walls which caused her to cry even more due to them reminding her of when she was bumping into that magical barrier from that nightmare...

She ran into the reception hall and then into the Cathedral.

She ran to where the broken pieces of the Cathedral...hoping to see Dimitri there...

but he wasn't there...

No one was...

Of course there wasn't anyone there though...who knew how late it was...

But Byleth couldn't even think straight..

She never felt so conflicted and terrified before....

She didn't even know what she wanted at that second...she just felt awful...

_Remembering the corpses of her friends....Edelgard chopping off Dimitri's head from his shoulders....That weird voice..._

...that weird voice...

She starts to think about what they said to her...

_That he can never hear her...that she means nothing to him...That she can't do anything to help him...or to help anyone including herself...._

"Am I even...doing anythi-"

"Professor? Is that you?"

Byleth's mumblings were cut off. She flinched when she heard that shy, slightly quiet voice calling her.

She hesitated to turn around especially since she was still shaken up from that nightmare and covered in tears.

She did eventually turn around in the end even if it was slow.

It was Marianne. She was running up to her.

Byleth felt sick. She wasn't sure how to feel seeing Marianne after seeing her in that...dream.

But one thing is for sure is that Byleth was so relieved to see Marianne alive.

Marianne had her hair out and was in casual clothing. It was probably the first time Byleth had ever seen Marianne with her hair out.

Byleth still was shaking though and she didn't leave either when she saw Marianne.

As Marianne walked closer, she realised that Byleth was crying.

She certainly wasn't expecting that...

it was...heartbreaking to see Byleth crying.

She had never seen Byleth cry before...

Marianne was originally going to ask why Byleth was up and then she would leave but...

There was no way she could leave Byleth like this.

"P-Professor?! What happened?" Marianne tried to comfort her.

"Its...it's nothing...Marianne..I...I'm ok...really.." Byleth was trying not to blurt it out.

Marianne didn't believe her. "Are...you sure you're ok?"

Byleth tried to look Marianne in the eye. "Yes Marianne...I'm... I'm-"

Byleth remembered something Dimitri told her when she got herself in a situation almost just like this back five years ago with him. That she didn't have to hold back for his sake. That it was ok to grieve.

Byleth remembered how it felt to hear that - so she sighed and spoke again. "No...I'm not ok...I...Thank you fo- ...Can I not hold back anymore?"

Marianne stared at Byleth when she said that and then Marianne nodded. "Don't hold back for my sake Professor. Maybe I'm not the best person to talk to but....please...don't force yourself..."

Byleth started to sob again and she finally stopped holding back. She found herself hugging Marianne which surprised the both of them.

Byleth said nothing, she just cried and Marianne let Byleth hug her. She hugged her back even.

After some time, Byleth finally pulled out of the hug and quickly apologised. "I'm...I'm sorry Marianne for hugging you out of no-"

Marianne shook her head. "Please Don't worry about that Professor. How are you feeling now?"

"I do feel a little bit better now that I've cried a bit and for you being here with me.. but there's something still bothering me...I..I- Marianne, can I talk to you about something?"

Marianne nodded. "Of course."

Byleth gave her a sad smile. "Well...I know it's silly of me but I feel- I mean um I sobbed so much because of a horrible dream...I've had bad dreams before but that one was..."

Byleth shook her head and spoke again. "Well...I won't talk about the dream but it did make me think of something about myself... Marianne..um..."

Byleth sighed. She wasn't sure how to word it.

Marianne had a feeling on who Byleth might be talking about and so without thinking, asked. "Professor..does it have something to do with Dimitri?"

Byleth was shocked. "How..How did you know?"

Marianne looked at her. "I just had a feeling."

Byleth sighed. "Well...yes you're right. I was thinking if anyone of us actually mean anything to him now...I don't know how to explain it... I just...Do you think we might be even making things worse for him? ...Can anyone here or even me do anything to support him? Am I the one making it worse?"

Marianne shook her head. "Professor, I don't know what your nightmare was about but you aren't making things worse - you are being his friend. Just like we are all being his friend. You shouldn't think like this."

"Huh?"

Marianne clarified what she meant. "You and the others mean a lot more to him than you think you do. Perhaps... More than anyone in the world maybe... He may say otherwise but I know he doesn't think you're in the way or anything of the sort. He wants to let himself be supported by someone but... I believe he's not allowing himself to receive any because he feels as if he doesn't deserve any. He's afraid and he feels lost in his purpose. I would know because...that was me not too long ago."

Byleth looked sad when Marianne said those last few sentences. "Marianne..."

Marianne shook her head and looked confident. "I may have told you this already Professor but now, I've learned to accept the kindness and warmth from everyone. It was because of you Professor. You were always watching over me and always there for me. You were always so kind and accepting towards me despite my flaws..."

Marianne took another deep breath and then spoke again. "Now Dimitri is refusing to accept kindness and warmth. Not because he doesn't want it but because he doesn't believe he deserves it. He believes that he doesn't have the right to live. The right to feel happy. The right to do anything... The right to truly accept anything that could be good for him..."

Marianne walked a bit closer and looked serious but also confident. "Professor, what do you think? Do you believe that he doesn't have the right to live? Do you believe he doesn't have the right to accept kindness and warmth??"

Byleth quickly answered. "Of course he deserves the rights to do so, everyone does! I-I want him to realise that he deserves to live..."

Marianne smiled. "Yes and he knows that you believe that. He wants to reach out to someone, especially you, but he feels like he can't allow himself too. I was the same but now I don't think that way anymore. I want you to know that you're like a beautiful light that can never fade to him Professor... I know that we all can reason with him Professor and push him to the right direction. We just have to support him."

Byleth stared at Marianne and she felt...oddly at ease. She's never seen Marianne so confident before. Even though it felt a bit selfish, she thinks that Marianne may be right...

So she believed her...

She smiled at Marianne. "Marianne...I...Thank you..."

Byleth couldn't even cry anymore.

Those words really did make an impact on her...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The nightmare in the beginning is inspired by a cutscene in another fire emblem game, in case you were wondering. Edelgard in the dream was the one who killed everyone and Byleth knew this. Just to clarify, Dimitri isn't the reason why Byleth got this nightmare so please keep that in mind.
> 
> But Thanks for reading though. This part will be the last part for Post timeskip Pegasus Moon and we will finally get to Lone Moon. I will not be rewriting Chapter 15 because I don't think I can add too much for that one. All of the other chapters after chapter 15 though? Yes they will be rewritten. Rodrigue will also have his involvement in some of the Lone Moon and onwards parts.
> 
> Anyways, prepare for Lone Moon. There are way more parts in this month than there were for Pegasus Moon. I hope you all are excited for that (Man there is one part I really want to show you guys but I can't for obvious reasons) and as always thanks for reading. I hope you liked this one. It certainly turned out far longer than I expected and it is different to the others I've written but I hope you don't mind that :)


	65. Saint Indech Day

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place on Saint Indech Day. Takes place on the second of the Lone Moon. References "Voice" part and "What's the matter lion?".

\-----

_Byleth, Alois & Shamir planned on doing a recital with the choir on Saint Indech Day._

Byleth was surprised that Alois somehow easily convinced Shamir the other night to take part of the recital in the morning since she hates singing and isn't someone who... really believes in the church much.

But Byleth did notice that her, Alois and Shamir have been getting closer lately which could be connected to the reason why she would want to come with them.

So the trio and the rest of the choir went to the Cathedral pretty early in that morning.

As they all entered the Cathedral, Byleth was half expecting to see Dimitri in the Cathedral again like he would normally be during the day.

However he wasn't there, mainly because it was the morning so it wasn't completely unusual.

Byleth, Shamir, Alois and the rest of the choir stopped where they were when they were in the middle of the Cathedral so they could start getting ready.

As they were all getting everything ready, Byleth stopped and stared at the broken pieces of the Cathedral without even realising it.

Looking at those broken pieces reminded her a bit of the conversation she had with Rodrigue last night.

She was like this for quite sometime until she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, causing her to slightly flinch.

"Hey. You alright?"

Byleth sighed in relief when she realised it was Shamir who spoke and did that.

She slightly turned her head towards Shamir. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"Hm. Is that all?"

Byleth looked away. She couldn't really lie to Shamir for some reason. "No...I guess I'm just thinking thoughts and all that."

Alois walked over to them both and spoke. "Hey you two we are about to start th- Did something happen?"

Byleth turned around entirely to face both of them and shook her head. "No. Nothing really. Just thinking I guess."

"Is it about your friends or His Highness or Rhea?" Shamir got straight to the point.

"No."

And she was telling the truth.

"Is it something major?"

"No."

Shamir sighed. "Are you sure?"

Byleth nodded. "Positive."

Alois tries to make the situation better. "Hey well, I know how to get you in a more chipper mood! Why don't eggs-"

"Are you going to say that egg joke again?" Shamir quickly cut Alois off.

"Why yes I will."

"Bad idea."

"How so?"

"Remember when you said that joke last time? You said it in front of many people including myself at the same time and you're the only one who laughed." Shamir sighed.

"Wait really?" Byleth joined the conversation, in a better mood due to the unique interaction between the reserved Shamir and the goofy Alois.

"Yeah. I can tell you the story if you want. What do you think, Alois?" Shamir teased.

"I...um would rather you did not bring that Shamir." Alois playfully frowned.

Byleth chuckled a bit. It seemed like they unintentionally made her feel a bit better.

One of the people in the choir walked up to the trio and interrupted their conversation. "Pardon my intrusion but I think we should get ready for the recital."

"Oh yeah, my apologies, we will be right there. Shamir, Professor, shall we?"

They both nodded then they followed Alois and the rest of the choir to where they're meant to be.

They've also all picked the song already and started to sing.

 _"♪...Oh Y_ **_O_ ** _u_ **_T_ ** _h...♪"_

 _"♪...Gu_ ** _IDE_** _d by_ ** _THE_** _se_ ** _rv-_** Ok please stop singing everyone, something's not right." One of the people in the choir interrupted the song rather awkwardly.

Everyone stopped singing and everyone but Alois could tell why.

"Could you...you know try to sound a bit more on key Alois?" One of the choir men asked.

"Oh was I off key?" Alois was taken aback and was surprised.

"Yes." Shamir said without hesitation.

"Oh..I didn't notice. Well let's try again, shall we?" Alois suggested.

They all gave him a look and then shrugged it off and then sang again.

This time, Alois was actually on key.

_"♪...Oh Youth...♪"_

There were the sounds of footsteps in the entrance of the Cathedral but everyone was too focused on the recital to see who it was walking in.

_"♪...Guided by the servant of the goddess...♪"_

The footsteps were a bit slower like they were hesitating to go any forward, however the footsteps started to turn into stomps.

_"♪...Unite earth and sky...♪"_

The footsteps started to get quicker...and a bit angrier.

_"♪...And Bring Light To The Land...♪"_

_"♪...Oh Youth...♪"_

_"♪...Show the two whirling sails the way to the Light Tower...♪"_

Byleth liked this song, she didn't know why but she just did...

Something about it just sounded relaxing to her.

_"♪...And before you a path shall op-"_

**"Stop singing..."**

A loud voice cut off everyone due to it catching them all off guard.

"Huh. Look who's here." Shamir pointed out.

Byleth was confused but then noticed that everyone was staring behind her.

She turned around to see the irritated prince, with his arms crossed and his face looking like it's being haunted somehow.

One of the people in the choir had the guts to yell at him. "You cannot just interrupt-"

Dimitri snorted. "Really? I believe I just did. I want you all to stop immediately."

Another person in the choir spoke up. "We were just singing for Saint Indec-"

"Do you think I care? Get. Out. Now." He demanded and angrily looked at the choir.

The confidence that the people in the choir immediately vanished when he said that, some did what he said and left.

Dimitri turned around and started walking towards the broken pieces of the Cathedral.

"Dimitri? Why did you do that? We were just singing for Saint Indech Day! It had nothing to do with you." Byleth looked confused and a bit frustrated.

Dimitri didn't turn around. He looked ahead of him to see his step mother's ghost again, approving him of what he just destroyed.

Patricia's ghost smiled kindly but it felt so deceiving to get. "Such a calming, beautiful song that the kind hearted one was singing huh? Good thing you destroyed it otherwise **you would forget what your purpose of living is**..."

Then he heard the chants. ** _" D E S T R O Y "_**

Shamir sighed. "Hey. Answer. You might as well."

"No." Dimitri snapped.

Byleth tried to speak up. "No Dimitri, that's not an answer. Just tell me why..? Why did you do that?"

He stopped walking and looked down to the ground. He did a slight pause before he spoke again. "You wouldn't understand."

Byleth was so sick of hearing that type of reason. "Maybe I will if you would jus-"

"Professor, I think we should leave him be. There's no harm in doing it somewhere else." Alois threw Dimitri a frown before he looked back at Byleth again.

"Yeah. He seems rather unreasonable at the moment." Shamir added.

Byleth stared at Dimitri, noticing something.

Something felt different for some reason but she couldn't tell what it was.

Did he seem more...guilty or something of the sort?

It was difficult to tell...

"Professor?" Alois waved his hand over her eyes.

Byleth shook her head and looked at Alois. She didn't want to keep them waiting. "Yeah. Ok. Sure.."

She lead the way out before throwing one more final glimpse at Dimitri before she left.

When she did leave, Dimitri thought about her words from the previous days and compared it in contrast to what the ghosts were telling him.

_A broken beast that cannot be human.....that's what he is...._

_.....right?_

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Shamir is a bit out of character in this one, my bad on that sorry. Byleth is also just upset at the beginning because of that conversation with Rodrigue.
> 
> Also the song they're singing is from a different nintendo franchise. I'll let you guess lol.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!


	66. Reflection

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Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part. Takes place on the fourth of Lone Moon. References "Voice" part, "What's the matter lion?" part and "Withered Flowers" part.

\-----

_Dimitri was on his way to the greenhouse this afternoon because someone's ghost might be waiting for him there._

He could never hear Dedue's voice or see Dedue's ghost outside of his nightmares unlike the rest of the dead.

It made no sense to him. Dedue **_died because of him and that witch..._**

So why wasn't Dedue joining the rest of the dead outside of Dimitri's dreams?

Byleth didn't either join everyone outside of the dreams either during the five years but that was probably because she never died to begin with.

Dedue on the other hand, was definitely dead so how is he not here, haunting his every move like everyone else...?

Though similar to Byleth, Dimitri never got to confirm it for himself when Dedue died but...

There was no way anyone could escape from a situation like that...

And then Dimitri's little trip to the slums.....

He shook his head remembering that and finally got closer to the entrance of the greenhouse...

However he was walking rather slowly and hesitantly.

He knows if he does hear Dedue's voice, it won't be calm...

Instead it will be haunting and frightening.

All Dimitri wanted was to at least hear Dedue's voice at least once.

But Dimitri knew that it won't be calm. It will be haunting to listen to.

Not something Dimitri would truly want to hear...but one he thinks he deserves to suffer from.

_But at the end of the day, he would technically still get what he wanted... To hear Dedue's voice whether or not it was a haunting ghost type of voice. If it was scary, then he'll accept it._

_That's all he can do anyways...other than kill people._

He heard another chant in his ears by another ghost that was most likely one of the soldiers that died back then...

**_" Y O U D E S E R V E T O B E H A U N T E D "_ **

Dimitri didn't object, he just nodded. However it still made him feel a bit scared to hear Dedue's voice potentially haunt him.

Dedue's ghost being here would make sense considering he adored this place and well...flowers in general.

But...When Dimitri did enter the greenhouse, Dedue wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Dimitri didn't give up though, he wanted to wait for him.

So He sat down on the ground, near the flowers.

And then He waited for Dedue's ghost to arrive...

And waited...

And waited for who knows how long.....

......

...Nothing...

Dedue's ghost wasn't here...nor will it ever be here...

Dimitri was irritated. "But how? Dedue loved this place..."

Then Dimitri realised what else Dedue loved... "He also loved Duscur...which means...the only way I can hear him again is if..."

**_" B Y K I L L I N G E D E L G A R D "_ **

Dimitri slightly flinched hearing that.

He then looked up at the glassed, windowed walls of the greenhouse.

He stared at it for a bit until he thought he saw something from the windows.

Some type of demonic beast or something...

He rubbed his own eyes and walked towards the glass window walls to get a better look at what he's seeing.

He realised it wasn't a demonic beast at all...

It was his reflection...

He wasn't surprised to see himself as that...

All he can see is a one eyed beast that is himself, staring right back at him.

"Hmph." Dimitri crossed his arms.

He hated his reflection but he knows that is what he gets.

Then... suddenly two other people must have walked in the greenhouse because they were behind him in the reflection he was seeing.

They both seemed shocked.

It was a boy with blue hair, slightly long like his, with freck-

When Dimitri saw that he had freckles, he immediately knew it was Ashe.

The other reflection on the other hand...

There was a sunlight behind the other reflected person. The light was bright, something that he wasn't.

Someone he knew well..

It obviously was Byleth.

Dimitri sighed when he realised it and turned around to face them both.

"Did you need something?"

"E-err nothing really... I-uh... I didn't really expect to see you here, Your Highness." Ashe was caught off guard from the hostility.

Byleth said nothing, she just stared at Dimitri.

She didn't really know what to say at this current moment.

It seemed like she did notice that he was staring at the window but...the way he did so...

She couldn't put her finger on it but something felt very off about it.

.....

The room was silent as the three of them just stared at each other.

"...Um Dimitri, did you come here to water the plants too?" Ashe tried to change this awkward and intense atmosphere.

"No." Dimitri said in a blunt way.

"Oh. Uh...Did you come here to look at the flowers?" Ashe asked.

"No."

Ashe frowned. He had no idea what to do in this situation. It was super weird...

Dimitri walked past both Byleth and Ashe and started to leave the greenhouse.

There was no way Dedue would show up at this point with those two being here.

"Dimitri Wait!" Byleth turned around to look at him from the direction he was walking out of the Greenhouse from.

Dimitri stopped.

He waited to hear what she had to say.

**_" W H A T A R E Y O U - "_ **

The ghosts' voices got cut off by Byleth's voice. "When you stared at the window, did you see something that seemed off to you?"

...?

He clearly didn't expect her to ask that.

It's like she knew what it was he was staring at.

What he was thinking...

How in the world would she though..?

"It... It doesn't concern you what I can see." Dimitri replied in a cold tone.

"It does, actually." Byleth argued.

"Then that's silly of you. You shouldn't care what a beast can see through his ONE eye. Anyways I have things to do..."

He then left them there, he could sense the disappointed frowns on their faces.

But those frowns had a mix of concern in them. Especially the Professor's frown.

While Dimitri walked away, he did wonder though...If he could even allow himself to feel better?

Unfortunately though, the voices in his head forced him to disregard that idea.

**_" L I E S "_ **

**_" S H E D O E S N ' T C A R E A T A L L "_ **

**_" N O O N E D O E S "_ **

**_" N O O N E C A R E S A B O U T B E A S T S N O T E V E N H E R O R U S "_ **

Dimitri nodded to himself but he still wasn't sure what to feel or think right now....

_....._

\-----


	67. Forgotten Hero (Paralogue)

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part and the "Reflection" part. Takes place on the 7th of Lone Moon. Based on "The Forgotten Hero" paralogue which is Marianne's paralogue. Slight references to "An Unfaded Light" part and to her some of her supports.

\-----

_As Byleth walked in the Entrance Hall from the Reception Hall, she heard an angry voice scolding a shy one._

Byleth went to go and check it out.

When she was close enough she hid so she could eavesdrop.

While Eavesdropping wasn't exactly...a good hobby for someone to have, she just knew she had no choice here.

There were two people talking or rather, someone was getting scolded.

An unfamiliar man and...

...Marianne?

Marianne was getting scolded?

What in the world for?

The unfamiliar man continued to yell at Marianne. "There's no reason to feign ignorance. I know all about you!"

For some reason, the way he was talking to Marianne...

...Made Byleth furious.

Marianne was stunned by this statement. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Byleth was clenching her fists. Marianne was definietly being accused for something.

Byleth was trying so hard to not run in and tell this man off.

"Just come here!"

Byleth hadn't felt so angry in such a long time. The conversation between those two was REALLY getting under her skin.

She just couldn't hold back anymore.

She just couldn't bear watching.

Byleth ran in and instinctively went in front of Marianne to protect her.

Marianne seemed relieved to see Byleth but unfortunatley not relieved enough to actually feel calm. "Professor! Help!"

The unfamiliar man didn't feel even a bit threatened from Byleth's actions. "Don't interfere. Just hand the girl over to me."

Byleth snapped. "Never."

But this unfamiliar man was stubborn. "I'm telling you this for your own good. You're putting yourself in danger by associating with her."

Marianne looked sad by that comment.

Byleth's anger seemed to only increase from there. She didn't believe him one bit.

The unfamiliar man continued his argument. "Do you know of the Wandering Beast stalking the woods in the Edmund territory? It is said that it attacks people every night and drags them off to feast."

He looked up and pointed at Marianne. "The true identity of the Wandering Beast... Is that girl over there!"

Marianne was shocked and horrified of this accusation. "No! I would never..."

Byleth had enough of this guy. "Get out of here!"

The unfamiliar man was still believing in his argument. "No matter. I'll get the evidence I need..."

He finally walked away and left them.

Marianne was the first to say something. "My apologies for getting you involved in that..."

Byleth couldn't help but ask. "What happened?"

Marianne looked up at Byleth. "In truth, that man has been following me ever since my father disappeared... He's a crest scholar."

Byleth still didn't understand. "Why is he following you?"

Marianne then looked down and looked sad. "The Crest that my father bore and was passed down to me... It was... Maurice's Crest."

"Maurice's Crest?"

Marianne clarified why that was a bad thing. "Yes. It's also known as... the Crest of the Beast... It's said there were once 12 heroes who saved Fodlan. There was the King of Liberation, Nemesis...the 10 Elites, and finally... Maurice."

Marianne took a deep breath before she continued. "One day, Maurice suddenly transformed into a hideous beast and slaughtered innocent people. It was like when Miklan of House Gautier turned into a Black Beast. The negative energy dwelling within his Crest turned Maurice into a monster. The people of Fodlan grew to despise him, and he was stripped of his honour. His whole clan was conquered, and it was believed that his bloodline had vanished..."

Marianne shook her head and looked back up at Byleth. "But even now, there exist a few descendants who have inherited Maurice's Crest, and his curse. My family line...is one of them."

Marianne looked back down again. "Maurice's Crest is a symbol of disaster. Anyone who comes in contact with it is met with great misfortune. Those who carry the Crest become beasts at night and slaughter innocent people."

Byleth wasn't really sure what to think. "What that man mentioned earlier..."

Marianne nodded. "Yes, the rumour about the Wandering Beasts in the woods... People are saying the creature is similar in appearance to Maurice's bestial form."

Byleth thought of an idea. "If it's defeated, wouldn't the rumour be dispelled?"

Marianne looked down. "That may be true but... I doubt I could do it on my own. If you and some of the others came with me though..."

Byleth immediately nodded. "Let's go."

Marianne smiled gratefully. "Thank you! But, um... Promise you won't tell anyone about my Crest?"

Byleth nodded.

Marianne looked down but she wasn't sad. "I'm sorry to have to ask...but thank you!"

Byleth happily nodded and they both went to go and get the army.

\-----

When they all finally arrived, Marianne ran up ahead to the wandering beast on her own and unintentionally left Byleth, Dimitri, Ashe, Hilda, Raphael, Ingrid, Flayn & Hanneman back in the fog.

"Wow this fog..?" Hanneman couldn't even tell what was going on anymore.

Dimitri groaned. "Stupid fog. I can't see a damn thing!"

Ashe sighed since this fog reminded him of a certain other event. "Lonato..."

"Ashe...Are you ok?" Byleth noticed how sad he is.

Before Ashe could respond to what Byleth said to him, they all started to see up ahead way more now.

Byleth now could see a beast.

Now...everyone else could see it too.

"Was that the wandering beast that Marianne was referring to?" Byleth wondered.

There was a sudden shy voice. "A-are you really the Wandering Beast that people talk about?"

Hilda could slight hear that voice and her attention immediately went towards the direction she heard it from.

The voice was Marianne's.

Marianne was a bit difficult to see but she was still slightly visible. Hilda pointed at where Marianne was so everyone could see her. "Professor! Marianne is over there!"

They all saw where Hilda was pointing.

Dimitri was a bit disgusted. "Is she trying to reason with a demonic beast?"

Ashe shook his head. "No. I don't think she is."

The wandering beast unexpectedly answers Marianne's question. "You...Do you bear our Crest? For what purpose did you come here?"

"Our Crest? Does that mean..."

"It appears that your presence has been detected by bloodthirsty Demonic Beasts..."

Byleth looked worried. "We need to get to Marianne's aid as soon as possible."

"But how? We cannot see anything due to this fog?" Ashe argued.

Byleth bit her lip. She has no idea what's in this forest and what could be hiding in the fog. It was rather scary but she knows that she is going to have to use Divine Pulse a few times.

She hates that she may have to take some risks but she doesn't really have a choice.

When Byleth walked up ahead into the fog, it became clearer.

However... She certainly wasn't expecting to see a Demonic Beast out of nowhere?

"Wha..Is that a demonic beast? I thought there was only one here!" Ingrid looked worried.

"Everyone be careful when moving forward in the fog! You won't know what to expect out here!" Byleth alerted everyone.

When Dimitri lunged at a Demonic Beast, Marianne noticed and only just realised that there were Demonic Beasts here. "Demonic Beasts? Everyone... Please move carefully!"

The Wandering Beast seemed arrogant. "This forest is the den of Demonic Beasts. You will be luck to make it out alive."

Then Byleth realised something.

That defeating the Wandering Beast would also take down this monster feast.

Byleth kept moving north so she could get to where the Wandering Beast was but then realised that there were trees blocking where Marianne was.

Which meant that she had to go the long way.

This plan was certainly harder than she thought.

Ingrid then attacked the beast that was in the forest between her and Raphael.

Marianne saw that hit. While Ingrid wasn't necessarily close to getting to where Marianne was, she could still see her.

"Ingrid! I'm so sorry, I had no ide-"

"Don't be. It's not your fault. Let's win this battle together!" Ingrid winked at her friend.

Marianne felt happy. It did feel nice to have someone by your side.

Byleth had no choice but to bring Raphael, Hanneman, Ingrid and Dimitri with her instead and put Hilda, Felix, Flayn, Ashe and Annette where the others were meant to go.

Hilda groaned but she did as told.

From this pace though, Byleth's strategy may work well. Her, Dimitri, Ingrid, Hanneman & Raphael were very close to where Marianne was. They also were able to take down some demonic beasts without much injuries.

When Byleth, Dimitri, Raphael, Hanneman & Ingrid were not far behind from Marianne and could completely see Marianne, Byleth felt relieved.

Marianne saw her and smiled. "Oh Professor! Everyone! Thank goodness your ok!"

The Wandering Beast noticed all of them too though unfortunately and looked like it wanted to fight.

It went to attack Marianne but Byleth instinctively defended her with her sword and helped Marianne get a bit further away.

While they walking further away, Marianne had something to say to her Professor. "You saved me, Professor... Thank you."

She then thought to herself but spoke outloud as she did. "The Wandering Beast's true form... Could it be... Oh! Sorry! I need to focus on the fight!"

The Wandering Beast roared. "My beastly blood is roused... You will not be able to stop me!"

He charged up for an attack towards both Byleth and Marianne but they were prepared.

Also Dimitri, Hanneman, Raphael & Ingrid came to their aid.

They all dodged the attack that the demonic beast did.

Well almost all of them.

A certain person did get injured.

Injured badly actually but they paid it no mind because they simply didn't care.

"Let's get rid of this beast now!" Byleth said as her and everyone finally fought to take it down at last.

"That sword... It's the sword of the king!" The Wandering Beast recognised Byleth's sword.

"Are you the one who can liberate me?!" The beast growled.

Then the Wandering Beast saw the others with her and roared. "Nothing will stop me...from feasting upon your flesh and blood!"

While the beast was certainly confident in themselves, it was still no match.

Though a certain person's wounds did prevent them from doing as much as they'd normally try to do.

"Well done... Finally, this nightmare of a thousand years is at its end. Oh, inheritor of my Crest...if this body is to decay, then the sword...I leave it to you." The Wandering Beast said as it took their last breath.

Marianne wasn't sure how to respond to that.

\-----

When Byleth and Marianne finally got back to the monastery, there were in the Entrance Hall and pretty shocked at what happened before.

Marianne looked down in guilt. "I still can't believe what we saw in that forest... The Wandering Beast's eviscerated body... Only human bones and this sword remaining."

Marianne stared at the sword she was holding. The last remains of the Wandering Beast.

Marianne had a clue on who the beast might be though. "Surely the creature's true identity was..."

The unfamiliar man or rather the Crest Scholar interfered in their conversation. "I'm sorry..."

Byleth already felt uneasy again.

Marianne spoke for them both though. "You again?"

"I heard rumour that the Wandering Beast was slain, but do you really believe that frees you of suspicion?"

Byleth's anger was increasing again. Just like it was before.

The Crest Scholar continued despite the scary frown on Byleth's face. "Without proof that it was slain, the argument that you are not a beast does not stand. Furthermore, I-"

He cut himself off when he saw the sword that Marianne was holding. "Huh? Oh! That sword!"

Marianne looked down again. "When the Wandering Beast was defeated, this sword..."

"It's unmistakable! Carved into that sword's Crest stone is Maurice's Crest! But how would the lost Magic Blade end up with the Wandering Beast? According to what I know of Maurice's story, he didn't let go of the sword until the very end. That must mean..."

The Crest Scholar seems to have realised something. "I see. So that's what happened..."

He bowed down and apologised, surprising Byleth a bit. "My apologies, it seems I was mistaken. I must be going."

He left them both. It was absolutely weird.

He had a complete change of heart the moment he saw the sword.

Byleth then realised something herself and thought to herself. _"Was the Wandering Beast's identity....?"_

Marianne realised it too. "So the Wandering Beast was..."

Byleth finished the sentence. "Maurice himself."

Marianne looked sad. "He was roaming the dark woods for over a thousand years, suffering for his murderous past."

"Good thing you were able to put an end to it." Byleth smiled.

Marianne turned towards Byleth and smiled back. "It's true... And because of that, I feel as though...my curse has been lifted."

She shut her eyes and continued. "The blood of a beast no longer flows through me. I feel human for once."

Marianne smiled to herself. If it weren't for Byleth, her Professor and friend, she would have never been able to feel this type of happiness.

_"The Professor really has done a lot for me... Despite everything."_ She thought to herself.

"Thank you, Professor. I couldn't have done it on my own. Without your help, I would never have found peace. I'll do anything I can to repay my debt to you!" Marianne was truly grateful.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I just wanted to say here that Byleth and Marianne have a strong friendship and that will be an ongoing theme here in this book. :p


	68. Blue Blood

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part & "Forgotten Hero" part. Takes place on the 8th of Lone Moon. References "Forgotten Hero" part and takes place the day after.

\-----

_Dimitri got an injury on his shoulder from fighting the Wandering Beast yesterday._

However he didn't bother healing it nor did he bother going to the infirmary for Manuela's help.

He just let it stay there.

 ** _"Deserved..."_** Dimitri thought to himself.

Thankfully for him, no one did notice that he got an injury on his shoulder.

At least he thought that was the case.

But even still, he went to the Cathedral in the morning and stood in front of the broken pieces like he always did.

He let the chants and inner demonic voices of the dead take over his ears again...

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" M O N S T E R "_ **

Dimitri's shoulder wound was really distracting him.

It still hurts quite a bit but he has to let himself tolerate it.

**_It's a consequence of all the blood he spilled after all..._ **

He instinctively put his hand on his shoulder since it was so distracting.

He then let the voices chant in his ears again.

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

**_" A V E N G E "_ **

He felt like everything around him was nothing but darkness now and could no longer sense anyone's presence...

He hates feeling like this but he knows that...he must let it happen.

**_" S U F F E R "_ **

"Dimitri!"

He snapped out of it when he heard that voice again...

He turned towards the owner of the voice and he once again guessed right. Byleth again.

"What do you want?" Dimitri looked at her dryly.

Before Byleth answered, Dimitri realised something. "Aren't you supposed to be training or instructing today with everyone or something?"

Byleth shook her head. "No. It's a free day, today."

Dimitri looked away. "I see...Well why are you here anyways?"

"I came to check on you. You seemed kind of off from our last battle..."

Dimitri frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well....I was hoping that nothing had happened to you."

"Why would you hope that?" Dimitri mumbled and turned towards Byleth again.

"Isn't it obvious? I hope that because I care about you Dimitri! I told you this already multiple times!" Byleth started to lose her composure.

"Well I'm fine so you don't need to be here! And stop caring about me. It's a waste of time to care for a beast such as myself."

Byleth frowned. "You're not a beast Dim-"

She cut herself off when she noticed that Dimitri's hand was unnaturally placed on his shoulder.

Byleth frowned at him. "You have a wound on your shoulder, don't you?"

Dimitri flinched from this confrontation, put his arm off his shoulder and unconvincingly denied it. "No I don't."

"Don't lie, I'm not stupid Dimitri." Byleth retorted.

"And so what if I do have a wound? It's not like I'm going to die from a cut on the shoulder." Dimitri looked away.

"Did you use any healing magic? Or did you go to the infirmary?"

Dimitri said nothing.

His face and posture basically said it all to Byleth. She crossed her arms. "Dimitri! You need to go to the infirmary now!"

"No."

"It could get infected!" Byleth tried to convince him.

"I don't care."

Dimitri was being difficult but Byleth remained calm in spite of him.

She took a sigh and gently took his hand from the non injured shoulder arm. "Dimitri, please, it may affect you in battle and one wrong move may result in death. So...please let me take you to the infirmary."

He turned his head towards her and found himself staring at the kind and caring look she had in her eyes.

And her hand felt so...warm.

It felt reassuring to him.

He nodded which surprised Byleth but she felt relieved.

Byleth continued to hold his hand and then started to gently lead him to where the infirmary was.

He let himself walk with her to the infirmary...

He didn't know why but...he did.

Being around her like this...

He didn't know but he felt safe

He felt calm...

They then left the Cathedral.

Some people around were staring at them both but Byleth paid no mind to it.

While they were going from the outside of the Cathedral to the Reception Hall, Dimitri felt his heart pounding again.

She is the only person that has ever given him this type of feeling.

**_" F O O L "_ **

Dimitri suddenly flinched when that voice chanted.

He then stood where he was.

Byleth found herself being stopped with Dimitri just standing where he was and refusing to go.

"Dimitri?" Byleth checked on him.

The deadly voices in his head got louder.

**_" Y O U H A V E N O R I G H T T O W A N T T H O S E F E E L I N G S "_ **

**_" S T O P W A S T I N G T I M E "_ **

**_" K E E P T H A T W O U N D "_ **

**_" S U F F - "_ **

"Dimitri!" Byleth raised her voice.

He snapped out of it and looked at her. He was confused.

"Are you alright?" Byleth was concerned.

 _"No. I'm not."_ His inner voice yelled.

Dimitri looked blank again. "I'm fine. You can let go of my hand. I can walk on my own."

 _"Don't...let go..."_ His thought yelled at him again.

He gently let go of her hand and walked past to get to the reception hall area.

"Dimitri? Are you going to the infirmary?" Byleth wasn't sure what to think.

"It doesn't matter where I'm going."

Byleth frowned. "Stop this talk. Yes it does matter. You need to go to the infirmary and recover."

"It's literally nothing. It doesn't hurt."

Byleth gave him a look that pretty much shows that she doesn't believe him.

Dimitri felt a bit threatened when he realised she can see right through his lies.

"Stop lying and talking to me like this! I want you to go to the infirmary! Can't you tell that I'm worried about you Dimitri?!"

"Stop worrying." Dimitri didn't even know why he bothered saying that because they both know that she won't stop worrying.

"Sorry but you know that's not possible if you've got an injury." Byleth looked him in the eye.

She had that look in her eyes again which had Dimitri's heart pound again.

She has absolutely no idea that Dimitri is even feeling that way towards her.

He looked away and tried to remove those feelings...but he failed.

"Please stop being difficult Dimitri. Just let yourself go to the infirmary and heal that injury. Stop harming yourself like this." Byleth looked in the eye and seemed a bit aggressive.

But the reason she was like this was because she was worried for her student and friend.

And Dimitri knew that and secretly appreciated that.

**_" B E A S T "_ **

Dimitri shook his head and looked away from her. "I.."

"Professor? Your Highness?"

Both of them shifted their attention to the person that said that.

It was Rodrigue.

"Oh um hello Rodrigue." Byleth didn't know what to say.

"...May I ask what is going on?"

Dimitri was cold again. "She wants me to go to the infirmary."

"Why?"

"Because he's got a shoulder injury and he's refusing to go." Byleth sighed.

"Your Highness... If that's true then why haven't you gone there already?" Rodrigue scolded him.

"Why do you care?" Dimitri gave him some attitude back.

Rodrigue frowned as there were some angry sparks being exchanged between him and the stubborn prince. "Because you're injured! You should get it healed."

"Why bother?"

"Dimitri..." Byleth sighed.

"What?"

"Please listen to us...All we want to do is to help you! Don't push us away like this!" Byleth said out of desperation and in an angrier tone.

She knew it was slightly nosy of her but she didn't care because it was completely necessary here.

He sighed again.

 _"Help...me...please..."_ He thought to himself.

**_" Y O U D O N ' T D E S E R V E H E L P "_ **

He slightly flinched as he heard those voices again.

Both Byleth and Rodrigue noticed that random flinch.

"I don't deserve help so leave me be."

"Is that how you really feel?" Byleth was shocked to hear that; but she didn't believe him. He was stuck in something she didn't understand.

Dimitri looked away. "Can you both just leave me alone already?"

"Your Highness. You will go to the infirmary this instant." Rodrigue grabbed Dimitri's other arm and tried to take him with him.

"No I deserve thi-"

"For the last time, can you stop saying that, Dimitri?! You don't deserve injuries at all so stop saying that! Please, don't let yourself be in pain like that." Byleth sounded mad.

He looked at her and then he sighed.

"Fine. I'll go."

"Will you really?" Rodrigue didn't believe him.

"Yes whatever." Dimitri was telling the truth but he still sounded very unconvincing.

"I'll go with you to make sure that you actually are going."

Dimitri groaned.

"I'll go too!" Byleth suggested.

"No...Professor you don't have to come with us. Don't worry. Manuela and I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Really...It's fine and..I uh...need to talk to His Highness about something anyways."

"What?" Dimitri quickly turned his head towards Rodrigue and gave him a glare.

 _"Just what in the world does he want to talk about?"_ Dimitri thought to himself.

Byleth once again, didn't know how to respond to that. "Oh...I see. Well Dimitri, please take care of yourself more from now on and Rodrigue make sure he allows his wound to get healed. He's...stubborn on not letting himself recover."

Rodrigue waved goodbye at Byleth and then took Dimitri with him upstairs to the second floor which was where the Infirmary room was.

"Dimitri. I saw a lot of what happened. It's a bit surprising..."

Dimitri was caught off guard from both the confrontation and Rodrigue saying his first name. "What?"

"It's... oh it doesn't matter." Rodrigue shrugged it off.

\-----


	69. Lost and Now Found

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part and "Blue Blood" part. Takes place on the 11th of Lone Moon. References "Jeralt's Ring & Diary" part and "Returned" part.

\-----

_In the afternoon of the day, Dimitri decides to leave the Cathedral._

He wants to go and train. He hasn't done that in a while because of his shoulder.

It wasn't exactly a unique day in the Cathedral. Byleth did come to the Cathedral but mainly to go to that weird counsellor box of some sort but she left not too long ago now. Most of the other people came in and came out every now and then.

Pretty much the same old.

Dimitri turned around from the broken pieces and started to head out of the Cathedral.

He had his head down, **hearing those voices in his head again...**

He kept walking and walking...

Then...he stopped...

Something on the floor caught his eye.

There was something...bright on the floor?

Something very small but bright.

Did someone drop something?

Dimitri couldn't help but pick it up. He didn't really know why he did.

When he picked up, he looked at it.

...It was a ring!

It was a white ring with purple in the middle, the purple looked like it was shaped as some type of flower of some sorts...

Dimitri found this ring rather...fascinating even if it had only two colours...

But also...he felt weird...

Like he's seen this ring before...

He holds onto it carefully, trying not to accidentally break this fragile ring.

He walks out of the Cathedral and then to the reception hall.

He could hear some voices...

A slightly bratty voice was heard speaking first. "Professor, I looked everywhere for your ring but I couldn't find it anywhere!"

A smug, sarcastic toned voice that Dimitri for some reason knew. It sort of sounded like Sylvain but it wasn't the exact same. "When you say 'you looked everywhere', you mean only in the Dining Hall Hilda? Knowing you, I doub-"

"Yuri shhh!"

Dimitri went closer to where those voices came from.

"I'm sorry Professor, I looked everywhere too but I couldn't find it. Are you sure it's not in your room?" A sweet, kind voice was heard.

These people talking were...Byleth, Yuri, Mercedes & Hilda

Byleth shook her head to Mercedes' question and threw out a sigh. "No, I already looked there. I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot, I shouldn't have lost my ring."

Yuri frowned. "Don't call yourself an idiot because you lost something. Everyone loses something. It happens, you know." 

Byleth threw out a long sigh.

Hilda seemed pretty surprised. "Well, I'd like to know something Professor, you never showed that much interest in jewellery, so...why the sud-"

"Hate to interrupt and all but it looks like we've got some company. Your Lordship, care to join us?" Yuri caught Dimitri watching them.

Everyone stared at Dimitri.

Byleth said nothing, it was certainly unexpected to see him here.

He didn't run away, he just walked towards them.

He couldn't help but think to himself. _"Does this ring...belong to Byleth?"_

Hilda frowned at him. "What are you doing here Dimitri?"

Dimitri said nothing.

"....Well I guess he won't answer."

"Did you lose a ring, Professor?" Dimitri asked curiously.

Byleth blinked and thought she might have imagined hearing him speaking to her in his old voice.

She didn't. He really actually asked that.

And he sounded genuinely concerned.

Byleth nodded. "Yes.. I have. Have you seen one?"

To everyone's surprise, he nodded. "Yes."

Mercedes was the first one to ask despite Byleth being on alert. "Oh my goodness! Do you know where it is?"

Dimitri showed everyone the ring he was carrying.

Hilda looked rather disappointed. She was expecting the ring to look a bit more...unique.

Byleth on the other hand, quickly ran to Dimitri to see if it was the right ring.

"Is this the ring you lost?" Dimitri asked.

Byleth had a sweet and big smile on her face when she realised it actually was the ring. "Yes! It is! And it's not broken either! Thank goodness!"

He gave her the ring and she held it in her hands. She smiled and stared at it for a second. She then turned her head and smiled at Dimitri. "Dimitri thank you so much!"

Dimitri flinched when he saw her smile again.

It was so heartwarming to see her smile like that and yet...It felt so....

**He feels like he doesn't have the right to see such a heartwarming smile.**

Mercedes, Yuri & Hilda could also see her smile too. It kind of caught them off guard.

They haven't seen Byleth smile like that in a really long time due to her stress about the war.

Dimitri couldn't help but ask about the ring.

It was so fascinating to him and he now knows why it is so familiar.

It was the ring that Byleth was carrying her father's room that one time...

"Why do you care about that ring so much?" Dimitri asked who unintentionally sounded a bit rude when asking.

They all looked at him, confused why he cared. Byleth's smile fell a bit too.

Hilda surprisingly agreed. "Well...Actually I'd like to know why you like that ring so much too. You never have shown that much interest in jewellery."

Byleth took a deep breath. She didn't really mind telling them about this ring. "This ring....was actually a ring that my father gave to my mother when he proposed. When we were in the officers academy five years ago, he was telling me a little bit about my mother, Sitri, ...before she died. He gave me this ring, he hopes that one day I give the ring to someone that I love someday. Just like he did."

All of them stared at her. They clearly weren't expecting a story like that behind the ring.

Mercedes smiled. "Aww! That's so sweet! Is that what you plan on doing when you find that special someone, Professor?"

Hilda winked. "Nah. She probably has already found a special someone."

"That's a shame. I was hoping I had a chance." Yuri jokingly teased.

"Ha! You wish." Hilda giggled.

Byleth wanted to laugh along with her friends on this topic...but she couldn't because she wasn't sure if she could ever use this ring...

She really, really wanted to believe that she could find a special someone...or she even kind of wished she had found one already...

But she doesn't even know if she is at all capable of falling in love...

With a lack of a beating heart, how can she fall in love?

_"Don't you need to have a beating heart to fall in love? Still...Dad believed that I could fall in love despite that...But....Have I fallen in love? I can't even tell"_ She thought and sighed to herself.

Dimitri for some reason was still fascinated by that story and the ring....

However... The demonic inner voices weren't fascinated at all so they chanted in his ears. **_" P A T H E T I C "_**

He threw out a long sigh and turned away. "You shouldn't think of romance at a time like this. Also, Professor you should probably be more careful with your stuff and... never mind."

He walked away after saying those cold words.

_"She deserves better..."_ He thought to himself as he left.

Hilda was cross. "Sheesh! Talk about rude!"

Byleth frowned. She couldn't help but wish that Dimitri would stay around a bit longer.

_Though that is wishful thinking..._

_She also wished...that she could give someone this ring..._

_However she isn't sure if that's ever likely._

_Though...maybe she has met that special someone already...she just hasn't realised it yet..._

_Byleth tried to deny that possibility but...she really did hope deep in her heart, that she has met that special someone without properly realising it yet..._

\-----


	70. Conflict in the Rain

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part, "Blue Blood" part & "Lost and Then Found" part. Takes place on the 16th of Lone Moon.

\-----

_This evening, it was freezing cold._

It was like Faerghus but it was raining instead of snowing and the weather was way more gloomy here.

While today was a training day, everyone cancelled it due to the rain and how freezing it was. No one wants to risk getting a cold at this current time.

Dimitri however, decided to walk outside and stay out in the rain for a while. He went to the place that Byleth would normally fish in which wasn't far from where the greenhouse was. Although Dimitri didn't realise this was Byleth's special fishing area.

When he got there, he went next to the stairs and sat down.

He looked up and felt the rain pour down on his face and the rest of his body.

**_" S U F F E R "_ **

**_" U N F O R G I V A B L E "_ **

**_" A V E N G E U S "_ **

....

The inner demonic voices chanted in his head again.

They were even worse than usual today.....

**_" M O N S T E R "_ **

**_" K I L L E V E R Y L A S T O N E O F T H E M A L L "_ **

Dimitri said nothing, he just nodded sadly.

_"I must...avenge them all. That's the reason I should live anyways..."_

**_" E X A C T L Y "_ **

The rain suddenly got worse.

It kind of reminds him when...he found Byleth crying when she lost her father.

And how much it was raining back then.

It was such a painful memory.

He then looked slightly to his left and saw that there was a bright candle light from the greenhouse for some reason.

His eyes then looked through the windows of the greenhouse and saw that there was someone taking care of the flowers.

The person then left the greenhouse.

He realised with a start that it was Byleth.

He was hoping that she wouldn't see him here.

And yet... he sort of wished that she could see him...

However, she didn't look chipper at all.

Nor did she look bored or anything of the sort.

She just looked...a bit sad.

She just walked a bit out of the greenhouse and let the rain pour on her.

It was as if she didn't even care that it was raining.

She threw a sigh and started walking in Dimitri's direction, she still couldn't see him due to the wall of the stairs blocking him from sight.

She then walked past and caught a glimpse to where Dimitri was.

When she finally noticed he was there, she was super surprised to see him.

"Dimitri?"

He looked up at her.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked in an unintentional cold tone.

He answered. "I could be asking the same of you. You seem sad... Am I the reason why?"

Byleth quickly shook her head. "You have nothing to do with my mood right now Dimitri. It's...a different matter."

She was actually telling the truth here and Dimitri could tell. He felt relieved to hear that he wasn't the reason why she was sad but...he, for some reason, found himself worrying about her...

Why did she seem so gloomy?

"Well what's the real reason then?" Dimitri didn't even know why he was asking.

This caused her to go silent which made Dimitri flinch slightly. He wasn't expecting something like that, and it seemed to make the atmosphere even worse somehow.

"Sorry but I have my own secrets to keep." Byleth said.

Dimitri didn't exactly...expect something like that to be said from her.

Byleth though did think to herself on how much she wanted to tell someone but...How could she tell her troubles to him..or to anyone (besides Seteth) for that matter?

_If she told anyone that she had no heartbeat and was worried because of it..._

_Then she would have no doubt that they would most likely see her_ **_as a monster..._ **

.....

She shrugged it off and stopped focusing on that.

She walked a bit closer to Dimitri and reached for his hand.

He stared at her hand.

She looked at him seriously and with concern. "Well anyways, you shouldn't be out here Dimitri, it's raining and absolutely freezing. I know you've got a coat on to prevent you from being cold but you're letting it get wet in this rain. You must be freezing."

Dimitri didn't say anything. He just continued to stare.

"Why don't you go to the sauna? That could help you warm up a bit. Hopefully no one is using it at the moment."

Dimitri shook his head. "I hate heat and the sauna."

Byleth wasn't expecting that answer. She didn't know that about Dimitri but it would explain a few things that have happened in the past. "Really? Well...Why don't you go inside then? I don't want you to get sick or cold."

Dimitri said nothing again.

"Dimitri... Please just go inside."

"Where are you going to go then?" Dimitri asked.

Byleth frowned. She actually wasn't sure where she was going to go at the moment. "Well..uh...I guess, I'll go to the dining hall or something."

Dimitri said nothing again and then looked away.

Byleth was feeling slightly impatient but she remained calm. "Dimitri...I know you said you don't like the heat but...it's freezing out here."

"I like it out here." Dimitri lied.

Byleth didn't really believe him. "Are you sure?"

The voices chanted in his head again. **_" B E A S T "_**

"Yes! I'm.. I'm fine!" Dimitri stood up and accidentally raised his voice at her, this came out of nowhere and was because of the voices in his head. He made that look kind of obvious to Byleth and she was able to easily guess that was the case..

"Uh Dimitri...Are you..?"

"I'm...fine...just fine. I..." Dimitri was struggling for the right words and he put his hand over his face.

"Dimitri, I don't mean to force you at all but if there is anything you need to say, I'm here." She tried to comfort him.

Dimitri turned his head to meet her eyes.

She had the kind and caring look in her eyes again. He wanted to fall into that caring nature.

**_" M O N S T E R "_ **

Dimitri wanted to tell her but he knew he couldn't...

"No. There's nothing.. You need to stop forgetting that I am a beast. There is no emotions that I can gain." Dimitri shook his head.

Byleth frowned, she was disappointed to hear something like that from him.

He walked away and left her there alone but partly regretted it because she might continue to feel sad and alone again just like she was earlier.

When he was walking though, he turned his head around slightly to see another ghost.

His father...

His father's ghost seemed pretty angry. "Don't bother trying to comfort her. You'll only make everything worse as always."

Dimitri nodded and continued to walk away.

The father crossed his arms and whispered into. "You have no other purpose you know. Don't forget that."

Dimitri nodded to his father's words and continued to walk away towards the entrance hall area.

**_".....No other purpose indeed"_ **

\-----


	71. Endless Knot

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part, "Blue Blood" part, "Lost And Now Found" part & "Conflict In The Rain" part. Takes place on the 18th of Lone Moon.

\-----

_There recently have been some random attacks done on some villages around the Gautier region._

The people responsible for these attacks are unidentified but it seems like they perhaps are bandits.

Many of the villagers that live around those villagers have come to the monastery and asked for help since Cornelia refuses to do anything about it.

When given the request in the morning, Byleth, Rodrigue and Gilbert accepted. They went to go and get the army (Dimitri, Felix, Ingrid, Annette, Shamir, Seteth, Caspar & Petra) to travel to the region.

One problem however, the ones that have attacked the gautier villages, seem to have a very bizarre hideout.

A huge cave.....

At least that's what the witnesses have said. They mentioned that they saw the attackers run off back in that place and whenever someone in their village goes in that cave, they're never seen again.

The report sounds random but both Rodrigue and Sylvain confirmed that there were indeed caves like those in the Gautier region and it was oddly common for that.

So they headed to that location during the day, simply because caves are dark at night and these attackers needed to stop the madness.

Dimitri had no hesitation in coming with them and he even looked kind of excited...

Byleth felt uneasy and worried about him coming but she didn't have a choice.

Once they arrived at the Gautier Region and remained unseen to the other kingdom regions, the villagers seemed relieved to see them all.

"We are so relieved to see you all. Thank you so much for helping us." A villager looked really grateful.

Rodrigue dismounted his horse and stood on the ground to talk to the villager. "It's not a problem but may I ask you to please show us where their hideout is?"

The villager's smile fell and looked rather scared at the mention of the hideout. "O-oh of course...I um..."

"Don't worry, we'll protect you if something happens." Rodrigue reassured.

The villager felt a bit relieved. "Ok...thank you. I will guide you there... It's not too far of a walk either so don't worry about that."

After hearing that, most of the people stopped mounting their horses.

Caspar and Felix though did get some help to get off their horses since they had no experience in riding horses in general.

The villager took them to the hideout which was a small while to get to.

Once they were in front of a huge, unusual cave, the villager stopped and stood where he was. "Here it is. This is their hideout."

The villager kept looking around out of panic as if he was searching for something.

He seemed scared about the attackers potentially doing something right here and now.

Rodrigue bowed to show his thanks. "Thank you for guiding us this far. We will take down these attackers immediately."

"Thank you Lord Rodrigue. We owe you for this."

Before Rodrigue could do anything, the villager ran off out of fear of the attackers showing up now.

Then everyone faced the cave's entrance.

Dimitri was the first one to do something.

He started to run inside.

Rodrigue went in front of him so he could stop Dimitri from moving forward any further. "Dimitri! What are you doing?"

"I want to go into this hideout and kill the attackers obviously!" Dimitri gave him attitude

Shamir sighed. "By running in? If you go in like that, you'll get taken down in a single strike. You need to be cautious instead of acting like a wild animal trying to get it's prey without thinking ahead."

"Yes because standing around and doing nothing in front of the entrance is the proper way of thinking." Dimitri crossed his arms.

"That's not what she said, genius." Felix face palmed at Dimitri's response.

Gilbert tried to settle things straight. "Ok calm down all of you. We need to be cautious and stick together in this cave. Don't forget that it's huge and that the enemy may be hiding. It wouldn't be good if we were ambushed or injured in something like this."

"Hmph." Dimitri crossed his arms.

Everyone got ready and started to head in the cave together.

They were all very cautious in case a random surprise attack happens.

It was a bit dark but not dark enough since they knew where they were going.

It was going pretty smoothly until.....they reached a crossroad...

There were three separate paths to choose from...

No one really knew which way was the right one so it was complicated.

"Would anyone have a clue in which one it could be?" Byleth asked.

Rodrigue shook his head. "No. There aren't any clues unfortunately."

Byleth sighed. "Well that's just great... What can we do now?"

Seteth spoke. "There's only one alternative. We split up into groups and look for the attackers the old fashioned way."

Dimitri's face tilted up after he heard that idea. He smirked. "That's the smartest thing I've ever heard any of you say. Won't hear complaints or objections from me with that idea."

Before anyone had the chance to respond, Dimitri started to walk towards the far left path on his own.

Caspar put his hand on Dimitri's shoulder though to stop him from walking forward. "Woahhh there pal! What do you think you're doing?"

Dimitri quickly shoved Caspar's hand off his shoulder and kept walking away. "Going to kill some beasts. Oh and NEVER call me pal."

Rodrigue walked in front of Dimitri to block him from moving forward once again. "Your Highness. Why are you going there?"

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Didn't you hear what Seteth said? I'm splitting up from you all to look for the enemy. I'd do anything to get away from you losers anyway."

"He said 'split up into groups' not 'split up into ones'. Remember Dimitri, it's not all about you."

Dimitri was growing impatient with Rodrigue. "Oh yeah? Well it's not all about you either. Now get out of my way or I'll strike you down."

Dimitri pushed (or rather slammed) past Rodrigue and continued to walk on ahead.

Rodrigue let out a long sigh as Dimitri continued to walk on ahead. "He really needs to sort out that ego of his..."

Felix gave his father a sarcastic smirk. "Hmph so what are you going to do now, old man? Going to let the boar prince wander off on his own while we take the other two paths?"

"Obviously not. I need someone to follow him."

"Um...wouldn't Dimitri just tell them off?" Annette looked pale.

"I mean from a distance, keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't act reckless again. Potentially convince him." Rodrigue clarified.

Felix snickered. "So old man, are you going to follow the boar prince and just assume you can convince him?"

"No. I am not one who can do well at this task."

"Then who do you have in mind, Lord Rodrigue?" Gilbert wasn't really sure where he was going with this.

"The Professor."

Everyone's eyes were on Byleth now.

She said nothing. She wasn't sure what to say.

Rodrigue spoke again. "Professor, I really hate to ask you another favour especially since you've done so much already, but could you please follow His Highness from a distance? Make sure he doesn't get himself killed due to his recklessness and try not to get him to spot you following him? You're the most suitable person to this task."

"...Me? I mean I don't mind but...Why would I be the most suitable?" Byleth was confused.

"You've protected him many times Professor and he definitely really cares about you. Don't you agree, Felix?" Ingrid smiled.

Felix groaned but he didn't disagree. "Ugh.. I suppose so. Good luck trying to keep an eye on that...creature."

"Felix." Rodrigue scolded his son.

Byleth frowned but didn't object to going. "Well...I guess I'll go on ahead then..."

Seteth seemed worried. "Wait... Shamir go with her."

"Sure. Why?" Shamir said in that cold tone of hers.

"I don't doubt either His Highness or the Professor's abilities but it is still risky if they get ambushed so you should give them backup just in case."

"Ok. On it." Shamir started walking towards where Dimitri went along with Byleth.

Despite the fact that they have walked away a bit from where everyone was, they could hear them from there.

"Ingrid, Caspar, Annette you're with me. We'll take the middle. The rest of you, go with Lord Rodrigue." Gilbert suggested.

Felix groaned at that idea.

Byleth eventually couldn't hear them anymore.

It didn't matter though, she had to stay cautious for not only her own sake but also for both Shamir and Dimitri's sake.

Dimitri hadn't realised that they were walking behind from a distance due to them being quiet and a bit far to sense.

So, he assumed he was alone.

**_" K I L L "_ **

The voices chanted in his head again.

He wasn't surprised at all really. At times like this, they'd normally do this.

Though he could never get used to it.

 **"I'll kill them...I'll kill them...I'll kill them..."** Dimitri was mumbling to himself.

Shamir spotted something next to Byleth.

It irritated her so she grabbed out her dagger and glared at it.

Byleth turned around to Shamir and saw that she was giving her a deathly glare.

"S-shamir?" She whispered.

Shamir then quietly aimed her dagger at Byleth's neck..

...Or well next to Byleth's neck.

She stared at Shamir and then saw that there was a dead spider at the cutting edge of the dagger.

"There was a spider." Shamir says as if she did the most normal thing in the world.

Byleth was confused and so accidentally made a really loud footprint as she stepped backwards.

Dimitri heard it and assumed it was an enemy.

 **"DIE!"** He turned around and quickly threw a javelin at the direction of where that sound came from as he screamed.

Byleth did a tiny shriek when realising there was a javelin being aimed at them. She and Shamir quickly dodged though.

Dimitri then stared at them and realised who it was.

Shamir and Byleth.

"Oh it's you two. No, no. I thought it was.... Why are you following me?" Dimitri asked.

Byleth was tempted to use divine pulse but she decided to see what happens from now.

Dimitri then walked closer to where they both are. "Tell me why you are following me?!"

"We were told to follow you. Lord Rodrigue told us." Shamir gave him an answer.

Dimitri frowned, he had a feeling on why Rodrigue chose someone to follow him. "Damn that Rodrigue! Well, you should leave. You're wasting your time if you follow me. I am doing what I need to do and no one will stop me."

Byleth found Dimitri's demand that they leave incredibly foolish, and she knew that he knew it was foolish. There was no way she was going to leave him here to wander around and get killed.

Byleth shook her head. "No Dimitri, I won't leave. I don't want you to do this on your own."

"Silence."

Byleth wouldn't take this. "No Dimitri! I won't tolerate you doing this on your own. I am the commander and I don't want you to get reckless and potentially killed."

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Then kill me."

Byleth felt more frustrated now when he made that demand. "As if I would ever do that!"

"Really? I'm disobeying you so.... What's stopping you? Because of some crap of me being your student? If that's true then you're probably going to spare that witch since she was a student there too, aren't you?"

Byleth was getting angry from these accusations. "Dim-"

"Or maybe you are tricking me ... I bet you're planning to kill me right now. You just want to catch me off guard so you can strike-."

"No! Stop accusing me of such things! I won't have it!" Byleth was losing her temper. She couldn't believe Dimitri was saying all these things to her.

Shamir grabbed her bow out and started to aim an arrow towards where Dimitri was.

"Your little friend says otherwise." Dimitri smirks and points at Shamir.

Byleth turned her head towards Shamir and saw that she was for some reason aiming an arrow towards the direction that Dimitri was.

"Heh. I knew it. Well, if it's a fight you want then so be it." Dimitri grabbed his lance out.

Dimitri had no intention in killing either of them.

Not now. Not ever.

**Instead he was going to let those two kill him.**

_"Would be a fitting end."_

Shamir then let go of the arrow.

It went straight past Dimitri and then hit someone lurking behind him.

It didn't kill them but it did hit them. The person pulled backwards, walked back and joined a few others behind him.

It seemed like Dimitri's life was just saved right there as that person was about to swing his axe on Dimitri's head.

"This is why Lord Rodrigue told us to go after you. So you don't die like that." Shamir once again, said in that cold tone of hers.

"A surprise attack? Dammit! They were in hiding!" Dimitri wanted to slap himself for forgetting about the bandit enemies.

The leader of the enemy's group approached.

"What do you idiots think you're doing? Trying to avenge your little village friends, huh? Hah!"

They were completely outnumbered. There were like forty of them. Sure Byleth, Shamir & Dimitri were strong but there is no way they can do this on their own.

This looked really bad... Byleth may need the others' help for this.

Dimitri yelled at the thieves. "So you guys are responsible for the attacks on the village. You bastards! You won't be forgiven."

They all laughed at him.

One of the attackers made a comment, poking fun at Dimitri. "Aww~ Look at the one-eyed boy get all sad. Well tough luck kid, you and these two cuties must die. You're never allowed in our hideout."

Byleth then turned towards Dimitri then at Shamir. "Dimitri! Shamir! Go and get Rodrigue and the others! I'll hold off these guys."

"No! I'm staying here. I want to kill these beasts." Dimitri shook his head.

The thieves laughed at the objection. "Haha! Kid, maybe you should listen to your girlfriend and get the rest of your pathetic friends so we can kill the rest of them off."

"Shut up!" Dimitri snapped back at the thief.

"I'll go and get them Professor but you should let Dimitri stay back here with you. Neither of you can handle these guys on your own." Shamir suggested and ran without bothering to listen for an answer.

"Shamir! Wait! I..." Byleth sighed.

One of the guys pushed Dimitri to the ground when he wasn't looking. "Pathetic kid. You should have listened to your girlfriend. Maybe the fact that you never listened to her explains you having only one eye."

"Shut up! Get out of my way!" Dimitri got up from the ground and stabbed him in the chest repeatedly even if he was already dead.

The attackers suddenly looked pale. "Woah! This guy is not a normal villager!"

"Who cares? Kill him and his girl already!" Another attacker demanded.

Byleth used her sword to kill some of these attackers immediately.

Unfortunately though, her and Dimitri underestimated them. They were much stronger than the typical bandits.

Byleth looked at her left only to see Dimitri crush the life out of one of them from their skull with his bare hands.

"Nghhh! Ackkkkk!" The attacker screamed.

Byleth felt sick. It was horrible to see them suffer like that even if they were terrorising people.

So she used Divine Pulse.

Before Dimitri put his hand on the guy's head, Byleth quickly ran to where the guy was and quickly stabbed him, giving him a much less painful death than the one Dimitri had in mind.

"Gahh! Damn you!" The attacker said before he died.

Dimitri wasn't pleased about Byleth killing the guy for him. "That was my kill!"

Byleth glared at him and then saw someone about to swing their lance on his shoulder.

She grabbed Dimitri's hand and quickly pulled him out of harm's way. When the person only swung their lance in the air, Byleth stabbed the person that almost hit Dimitri.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri asked.

"Protecting you!" Byleth snapped back.

"Well stop. I don- Look out!"

Byleth then looked behind her but it was too late. Her neck was suddenly grabbed by the leader and then tried to strangle her to death. She couldn't use her sword to stab him because she accidentally dropped it.

The leader was angry. "You damn nuisance! What makes you think you can disturb us? Join your stupid villager friends."

"Professor!" Dimitri attempted to save her but was then blocked by a lot of the leader's backup which made him unable to reach her.

He sliced through some of them but he was still too far away to save her from being killed despite his attempts to get to where she was.

There were just so many bandits in the way and blocking Dimitri from where Byleth was.

Byleth wanted to use Divine Pulse but she could barely focus as she was getting strangled to death and struggling to breathe. For the same reason, she was unable to do a magic spell.

"No! Don't die! ...Please!" Dimitri cried out.

Byleth heard Dimitri say those words. She really wanted to say something.

But she couldn't...

Dimitri was starting to cry and desperately begged the leader despite still being blocked from where she was. "Let her go you monster! Do whatever to me! Just don't kill her."

"Awww... Don't worry you crybaby, after we kill her, we'll kill you. Say your prayers fools. Now die!" The leader sadistically chuckled and strangled Byleth even harder which caused her to shriek a bit.

Byleth's strength to struggle started to decrease. She was trying so hard to hold on.

**_" S H E I S G O I N G T O D I E B E C A U S E O F Y O U ! "_ **

The inner voices chanted in Dimitri's head again.

Dimitri started to think to himself. _"No...This can't be happening..."_

Byleth looked like she couldn't fight it anymore.

Dimitri was shocked. He couldn't even speak. Only think. _"No no Professor!"_

...

"Aaaagh! What the hell?" The leader screamed out. He let go of Byleth's neck who was just barely alive.

Dimitri looked down to see that there was a javelin pierced through the leader's stomach.

The leader fell down to the ground and toward his attention to the direction the javelin came from.

It was from a girl with short blonde hair and lots of armour. The leader died before he could get a better glimpse.

Dimitri looked up to that direction too and saw that it was Ingrid who threw the javelin.

Annette, Gilbert and Caspar were with her. They started to charge up towards the enemies.

Shamir wasn't there but that was because she was most likely going to that other path that Rodrigue, Felix, Seteth & Petra took so they could also provide aid.

"Alright! Hyaaaah!" Caspar hit one of the attackers from behind with his axe.

"Where the hell did these guys come from?" One of the attackers looked like a coward now.

The attackers weren't sure what to do now. Their main leader is dead now.

One of the attackers yelled. "Destroy all of these nuisances now!"

Some looked hesitant but they didn't have a choice.

They charged up towards Caspar all at once.

Ingrid sliced them with her lance before they could reach Caspar in time though.

However, Byleth was still sitting on the ground, trying to catch her breath.

She had her eyes closed, dazed she forgot that there was still a battle.

One of the attackers looked at her and grinned.

Before they could strike her though, Annette used her magic to kill them before they could do so.

After that, she ran to Byleth, checking if she was okay.

"Professor! Are you ok?"

Byleth could only slightly nod.

"Thank goodness we got here in time." Annette tried helping her best friend get off the ground and stand back up.

Dimitri ran up to them both after the attackers went to focus on Ingrid, Gilbert and Caspar instead. "She's fine right?"

Byleth felt a bit off still but she nodded even though he asked Annette that question.

"Thank goodness..." Dimitri sighed in relief.

Annette was a bit surprised to see this attitude from him at that moment.

Byleth fluttered her eyes wide open now and finally caught her breath.

"Thank you guys. I owe you one." Byleth sighed in relief.

The voices chanted in his head again.

**_" K I L L "_ **

Dimitri was cold again. "Well...Don't just stand around like statues. We need to rip these beasts' heads from their putrid shoulders..."

Byleth and Annette stared at him as he made this claim.

"We shouldn't be rash but I do believe we should get rid of them all." Annette nodded.

"Yes I agree but Dimitri please don't...be brutal when killing them." Byleth frowned.

Dimitri crossed his arms and shook his head. "Why shouldn't I be? Heck, why aren't you wanting to kill them brutally?! You almost died!"

"Are you guys just going to keep talking?" Felix sliced an attacker.

It seems like everyone is now here. Seteth, Rodrigue, Shamir, Felix & Petra.

They were surprised to see him but they couldn't question it now.

There was a very small amount of people left to defeat.

Byleth, Annette & Dimitri joined the others and helped get rid of the remaining enemies.

They finally did so after a tiny short time.

However, they couldn't just stop looking now.

There could be more in hiding somewhere.

"We must continue searching, In case there is more." Rodrigue said and they all decided to stick together in this one.

While Byleth was walking not far behind thinking to herself about whatever it was that just happened...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This part was really long, holy crap... I won't lie though, I had a ton of fun writing it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it(:


	72. Shamir's Birthday

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after the "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part, "Blue Blood" part, "Lost And Now Found" part, "Conflict In The Rain" part & "Endless Knot" part. Takes place on the 27th of Lone Moon (Shamir's Birthday). References "Sword and Shield of Seiros" part.

\-----

_Today was Shamir's birthday._

Byleth and Alois decided to eat with her in the dining hall for dinner that night.

When it was the late afternoon, they served Shamir's favourite dish, Super-Spicy Fish Dango (due to Rodrigue bringing in more food supplies) which was what Byleth requested specifically for this day.

The three sat at the table and dug in their meals.

Well almost all of them...Alois stared at the meal and looked randomly conflicted.

"Alois? Is something the matter?" Byleth asked out of curiosity.

"Huh? Why of course not..I um...will start eating it."

Alois took a bite and had a sour look on his face while eating.

This didn't go unnoticed by either Byleth nor Shamir.

Alois looked around and chuckled nervously. "Don't worry I'm fine."

"You hate spicy food, why did you get it Alois?" Shamir sighed.

"You do?" Byleth didn't know that.

"Well I...wanted to celebrate my friend's birthday! Even if I don't like the food, I will eat it."

"Don't. You can't handle spicy food." Shamir sighed.

"A little spice wouldn't hurt too much..." Alois chuckled.

"Anyways, I know you don't care much for conversation Shamir but could I give you a birthday gift?" Alois looked genuinely happy this time.

Shamir, while didn't show it, wasn't expecting that. "Oh. You got me a gift?"

Alois gave Shamir a dagger. "Of course I did."

Byleth thought to herself when she saw Alois giving Shamir a dagger.

It kind of reminded her of the story Dimitri talked about ages ago...

"Huh. Thanks Alois. I appreciate it." Shamir slightly smiled at Alois, as she stared at the dagger she was now holding.

Byleth finally stopped thinking and got out her present. "I got something for you too Shamir."

She gave Shamir a bouquet of sunflowers. She remembers Shamir talking about how much she liked sunflowers which wasn't something to expect from someone like her.

"Wow you got my favourite type of flowers. Thanks!" Shamir slightly smiled at Byleth.

Alois smiled too. "I didn't know sunflowers were your favourite too, Shamir. I love them myself, they're always such a happy looking flower."

"Yeah. There is something...special about them." Shamir agrees and proceeds to go back to eating.

Byleth thinks to herself again. She couldn't get her mind off that dagger story anymore for some reason.

It was really weird...

And she also remembered seeing Dimitri carry a blue dagger with him all the time now...

"Professor? Is there something on your mind?" Shamir asked.

Byleth snapped back into reality and awkwardly shook her head. "No, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? Don't hesitate to tell us!" Alois joined in.

"Yeah don't worry it's nothing... Though if there was a major problem, I would tell you both if that's okay with you of course." Byleth awkwardly chuckled.

Shamir nodded. "I don't mind."

"Of course." Alois looked happy.

Byleth smiled to herself.

She had no idea why she felt so comfortable when she was around these two.

It just felt so...right for some reason.....

It seems to always happen when she is with these two.

Regardless if it's on the battlefield or just hanging out, it always felt...right for some reason...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry this part is really short and not too much about Dimitri. Hopefully I'll get better at writing Byleth, Shamir & Alois parts soon :|


	73. The Argument In The Lions' Den

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! WHILE THIS PART IS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE, IT STILL CONTAINS SOME TRIGGERING THEMES. MAJORITY OF THESE CHARACTERS ARE OUT OF CHARACTER (DIMITRI, FELIX, SYLVAIN ETC) BUT THAT WAS INTENTIONAL DUE TO THE SITUATION OF THIS PART. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place before chapter sixteen. Takes place after "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part, "Blue Blood" part, "Lost And Now Found" part, "Conflict In The Rain" part, "Endless Knot" part & "Shamir's Birthday" part. Takes place on the 28th of Lone Moon which is three days before the mission/chapter sixteen. Beginning of the part takes place during the daytime and after a mission. References the goddess tower arc.

\-----

_Byleth and the army defeated some pirates once again._

They needed to take out some pirates and they needed to get some experience for the invasion of the bridge which was in two days.

However the pirates were way more stronger than any of the ones they've fought before which ended up having Byleth use up all of her divine pulse power for the first time ever.

Thanks to Byleth and her Divine Pulse power, nothing terrible happened and no bad injuries happened either.

Or that's what she thought...

When everyone else was prepared to leave, Byleth was walking alongside Dimitri, Seteth and Felix.

She was exhausted and had a hard time holding up. She never once overused divine pulse so she never felt like this before.

In fact, she felt like she was going to faint.

Seteth went over to her left and whispered to her a warning since he noticed her condition. "Did you overuse...divine pulse? No! Try not to overuse it otherwise you'll faint!"

Byleth was shocked that Seteth knew what that was and that she had it. "How did yo-"

Then she cut herself off when she saw a pirate about to stab Dimitri from behind with a sword. She panicked.

Since Dimitri was like three metres away from her and that there wasn't enough time to alert him, she pushed him out of being stabbed by the pirate. "Dimitri!"

Dimitri fell on the ground when he got pushed suddenly by Byleth.

He was frustrated from getting pushed to the ground so suddenly for no reason. "What was th-"

Then he heard her slightly shriek which made him turn around and...

He really wishes he didn't turn around and saw her.

A pirate stabbed her in the hip by using a sword.

And that attack wasn't even meant for her. It was meant for Dimitri.

Byleth stepped back a bit after the pirate took out his weapon in confusion from stabbing the wrong person.

She was bleeding badly from the stab wound.

The injury was surprisingly not too severe but Byleth's body was already weak from the overuse of divine pulse and now that she had a painful stab wound, it was hard for her to keep up.

Mercedes tried to run to Byleth and use magic to heal her but it wasn't possible to completely heal a wound like that at this moment.

Dimitri rushed in and stabbed the pirate that stabbed Byleth over and over until he was dead.

Byleth couldn't focus that much on what was happening. It was the first time she had something like this happen to her.

"Why did you do something so idiotic?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Felix scolded her.

Byleth turned towards Felix when she heard him say that even if it sounded like mumbling.

Her vision was a bit blurry.

 _"Woah wo....! Ar... ..ou.. o..k?"_ Annette ran over, panicked and Byleth could barely hear her for some reason.

Annette's voice sounded like it was muffled in her ears for some reason.

"Hey!" Felix waved his hand over her face to get her attention.

She didn't answer. She couldn't talk. Her body was way too weak to do anything other than walking or...falling.

_She eventually couldn't keep it up anymore..._

She fell down to the ground, unconscious, unable to handle an overworking and exhausted body with a painful stab wound.

"Professor?!" Annette yelled.

Annette was going to check for Byleth's pulse or **heartbeat** but Seteth quickly prevented Annette from doing so.

"I'll check for a pulse." Seteth checked for her pulse and sighed in relief but he was still worried.

"She's fine but we must still make haste back to the monastery immediately!" Seteth made the order.

Dimitri was still frozen solid with his eyes and mind refusing to understand what just happened back then.

In his mind, it was the second time he saw her faint but this time was due to an injury.

And Seteth's statement didn't not sound convincing in the least bit.

Felix then glared at Dimitri and so did a few others. "Boar, why can't you just be cautious for once? This is all your fa-"

"It's not His Highness's fault. Blaming others will get us nowhere Felix." Rodrigue scolded his son.

"Hmph." Felix crossed his arms and quickly followed everyone as they tried to be quick on their way back to the monastery with an injured Byleth in their care and Mercedes desperately trying to heal her until they made it to the infirmary. 

Dimitri's inner demons didn't hesitate to scream at him. **_" I T ' S Y O U R F A U L T "_**

\-----

After a while they went back to the monastery, Dimitri, Felix, Ingrid, Sylvain, Mercedes, Ashe, Flayn, Dorothea & Hilda were waiting for Annette to get word on how Byleth is doing

When they all arrived back, the first thing they all did was put Byleth in the infirmary for her wounds to be treated so Rodrigue told some of the people who were once Byleth's students five years ago, to wait in the Blue Lion classroom because the situation may force them to invade the great bridge later than initially planned.

Mercedes got Annette to check the situation with Rodrigue to see if that was the case and so Annette went to go and find Rodrigue to talk to him about it.

Dimitri was in a mix of feelings at this moment. He was worried while being furious with himself at the same time.

**_" Y O U M O N S T E R "_ **

**_" I T I S A L W A Y S Y O U R F A U L T "_ **

**_" A V E N G E "_ **

Dimitri had a hard time listening to those voices in his head again. It felt painful to hear.

Felix noticed that Dimitri looked odd and then he gave him a look. "Pfft. Feel guilty now Boar?"

Ingrid then joined in the conversation and scolded Felix. "Come on now Felix. The Professor wouldn't be happy if you sai-"

Annette ran back in the room.

Ingrid cut herself off. "Annette! You're back!"

Annette was panting a bit. "Y-yes...I am"

Dimitri was the first one to ask. "How is the Professor?"

"She's fine. Apparently she overdid it in that battle and after that injury, she fainted due to exhaustion. However, since she is still our commander and is still injured, we may not be able to invade the bridge as soon as we thought. We might have to do it a day later."

Ashe sighed in relief. "Phew.. Well, I don't think it's a big problem to do the invasion a da-"

He was cut off by a sudden and angry Dimitri. "What?! That's ridiculous! I refuse to wait any longer than I have to right now to kill all of them! We should make haste to the bridge today without her!"

Ashe tried to help the situation a bit. "I don't think it would be wise to act recklessly in this situation. If it weren't for the Prof-"

Dimitri unintentionally but carelessly cuts her off. "Why should we wait for the Professor? All she does is tell people what to do, and it **NEVER** benefits us."

Dimitri's thoughts said otherwise. _"...What am I saying?"_

Ingrid frowned at him. "Hey now Your Highness. You know more than all of us that that isn't true. If it weren't for her right now, we'd most likely be dead."

Dimitri crossed his arms and looked in the other direction. He didn't even bother responding to Ingrid.

Ashe tried to take control of the situation from getting any worse than it already was. "Listen Your Highness, I... understand where your frustration is coming from but invading the bridge right now without any strategy and just out of being rash will not get us anywhere."

Sylvain agreed. "He's right you know... If we lash out, especially without the Professor, we would all be dead right now."

Dimitri hated to admit that they had a point but he refused to agree. Besides...If she did go with them, she may risk her life again. "Hmph."

.....

The room was silent for a good while.

The only sound that was heard at that moment was the sound of the pouring rain from outside.

Sylvain finally broke this awkward, long and silent pause. "Well um... Your Highness, I'm really glad that you didn't get injured out there! It's a good thing that she protected you."

Dimitri didn't even look at Sylvain. He was just looking down with his arms crossed. He was clearly angry.

"Fools." He loudly mumbled under his breath.

Ingrid frowned. She didn't like where this was going. "Er..Your Highness? ...please calm down...I-"

Dimitri started to lose it and blurted out stuff that he didn't even mean. "Pffft calm down? Haha! Why would I calm down? If it weren't for...if it weren't for that...professor taking such ridiculous actions then we would have Edelgard's head by now! This war would've been over by now if it weren't for her! So I don't... give a damn whether or not she dies!"

Dimitri couldn't believe he just said that lie and thought to himself. _"Why am I saying this...? This...This isn't how I feel at all...Why am I...?"_

.....

After Dimitri said that, the atmosphere felt...intense and heavy all of a sudden.

No one was sure if he actually truly thought that way or not....

Dimitri wasn't even sure himself. He did wish that he could think that way. It would make getting revenge feel much easier...

And he was just so irritated about her protecting him and was now desperate about getting revenge to the point that he couldn't even tell what he was saying anymore...

But...at the same time...He knew that's not how he felt about Byleth. He knows that isn't how he felt...

He was in love with her...always was and always will be even now...

but...for some reason...he was saying horrible lies about her that no one could tell if they were true. Besides himself obviously

"...What? You don't actually...there is no way you believe that..." Dorothea was lost for words.

Dimitri said nothing. He just glared at everyone.

His demonic inner voices and ghosts were proud of him for saying that about Byleth even if that wasn't how he truly felt at all...

This really got under certain people's skin. Everything about this and what Dimitri was saying...

Felix couldn't take it anymore. "Ok..I've had enough of this beast attitude of yours ever since we found you back in Ethereal Moon. She selflessly saved your life so the least you could do is be thankful she didn't lose her life because of you!"

No one expected to hear Felix say something like that.

Dimitri decided to let these demonic inner voices take over...everything.

**Take over his heart...his mind.....his actions...and forced him to throw away what he truly wants to say...**

So they took control. Dimitri snickered which angered Felix and a few others even more. "I have no reason to be thankful to her. She is the reason I haven't gotten revenge yet."

Felix hissed like a cat. "No, she is the reason you are still alive you damn idiot. Why is that so hard for your brain to understand?"

"We would be at the bridge earlier, if she had-"

"Are you seriously going to blame her for that?" Felix cut him off.

"Well, she did let herself get stabbed! And because of that, I have to wait even longer to kill Edelgard! I refuse to wait any longer especially because of something like this."

Annette couldn't help but join in this conversation. She was starting to lose her composure too. "Yeah she let herself get stabbed because she wanted to protect YOU and save YOU from getting killed! And this is how you thank her?"

Dimitri spoke back. "I NEVER asked for her to protect me! That was a silly move to doom the army by letting herself get injured. I... I..."

He started to pant as his heart beat so fast, he was having a panic attack and he didn't know why....

Then something else inside him...snapped.

 ** _"Worthless... Worthless... I'm worthless if I can't get revenge! Every single one of us all is...worthless!"_** He shouted out at the top of his lungs.

Dimitri slammed his face in his hands and let out a yell.

.....

"Wow..." Dorothea frowned, completely speechless about this conversation and not really knowing what to do.

"Your Highness... Just.." Sylvain frowned.

"Just what?" Dimitri yelled.

Sylvain couldn't find a response. He wanted to help his friend but... He couldn't find the words to say to him...

"Hmph. Weirdos... I'm going to the bridge right now whether you like it or not." Dimitri scoffed and started to walk away.

However, Ingrid, Felix & Annette blocked the classroom entrance to prevent him from leaving.

"No! Your Highness! You'll...You'll die!" Ingrid was worried.

Dimitri was losing patience. "Do NOT stop me!"

"No we will stop you! None of us can leave now!" Annette objected.

Dimitri walked backwards and then stopped to give them a disgusted look. "Why? Because you need your little 'precious professor' to come and save you all? I thought you were soldiers not comedians!"

"We are soldiers and because we are soldiers, we are not allowing you to go! You'll die if you go on your own!" Annette cried.

"Pft. Then come with me. Kill them with me." Dimitri taunted them.

Ashe looked nervous. "Your Highness...even if we do all go with you, there is no way we can succeed on our own especially without a strategy and the Pro-"

Dimitri cut him off. "Shut up! Just...get out of the damn way!"

Felix looked angry again. "Don't you understand the problem here boar? If you go in rashly especially without a commander, you'll get yourself killed."

**_" K I L L "_ **

The voices in Dimitri's head got louder...

Sylvain mumbled to himself, not expecting Dimitri to hear him. _"Kind of ironic of you to say all that now..."_

Dimitri snapped at him. "What was that supposed to mean?"

Sylvain was a bit surprised to see him respond. "Oh Your Highness... Did you-"

"What was that supposed to mean?" Dimitri cut off Sylvain and repeated the question.

"Well...I.." Sylvain frowned.

"Answer the damn question you coward." Dimitri snapped.

Sylvain sighed but it seemed like Dimitri kept on insisting. "Well...I just find it ironic that you're calling the girl you once had strong feelings for-"

"Shut up! That was five years ago and just some teenage crush!"

"Then how do you explain the concern you had on your face when she did shield you from that weapon?" Dorothea challenged, having enough of Dimitri saying all of this.

Dimitri threw her glare which caught Hilda off guard because she was standing next to Dorothea.

"I knew it...You still have fe-" Sylvain sighed.

Dimitri denied that comment. "I have no such thing. I'm a mindless beast, I can't fall in love with anyone at all. Any emotions that I had are dead and forever gone."

"Hmph. Thanks for the reminder, boar." Felix crossed his arms.

Mercedes bit her lip and tried to take control of the situation. "Ok! Everyone please calm down! There's no need to fight right now!"

Ashe nodded and agreed. "Y-yeah! We are all friends here! We shouldn-"

Dimitri cut her off. "I'm not friends with any of you. None of you are worth the dirt on my shoes and I shouldn't be worth the dirt on your shoes either."

He tried to leave again but they still blocked the entrance.

Felix provoked him. "Hah. Trying to invade the bridge, even now Boar?"

Flayn was desperate for this hostility to stop. "Please everyone! We shouldn't be fighting like this!"

Dimitri ignored Flayn and continued to try and leave. "Yes I am. Get out of my way."

Felix snapped again. "I believe we've told you many times that we cannot leave until the Professor has been healed."

"Hmph."

Dimitri stared at them all for a bit and then turned around and walked towards one of the desks, without exchanging any kind of eye contact.

He coughed and groaned. "You idiots want to sacrifice many lives just so we can wait for A SINGLE PERSON to recover from some injury? The professor wouldn't even agree with you. You all disgust me."

"Sheesh! Dimitri you need to calm down!" Hilda accidentally blurted out.

"Tch. Silence."

"Listen you have no right to be angry right now. We are following what YOU want to do! We are going to kill the emperor just like you wish! You're getting what you want so stop being a hypocrite!" Dorothea snapped.

"Of course you would say something like that. You were that Witch's classmate along with a few other fools here."

"Are you serious right now? How in the world does that have anything to do with this?" Dorothea sighed.

"It has every-"

"Enough! Guys stop it!" Flayn blurted out.

"Yeah, this is going nowhere! Let's stop this!" Ashe once again agreed.

"I don't care what you think we should do. I'm going to the bridge, I will get Edelgard's head!" Dimitri claimed.

Dimitri tried to walk away.

Ingrid tried to stop him again. "Your Highness, we should wai-"

Dimitri cut her off. "What difference would it make if we wait for her recovery? Would the war magically end if she recovered? No. It wouldn't. We should all make haste now. She'd probably die if she came with us anyways."

Dimitri continued to walk away, Felix no longer blocked the entrance even though Annette and Ingrid still did it.

Felix started to lay his back on the wall of the classroom. He had something to say to Dimitri. "Sure, sure ok then. Sure let's ditch everything and everyone just to get the Emperor's head. I wonder if let's say... If he survived the tragedy, you would've ditched Glenn's life too to kill Edelgard, since you wouldn't have cared about him either, right?"

Dimitri stopped walking when he heard Felix say that and just stood there.

Everyone was shocked at the fact Felix would bring something like that up right now.

Ingrid was the first to comment. "Felix! Do NOT bring-"

Before Ingrid could finish her sentence, something in Dimitri...completely snapped.

He grabbed his lance and angrily aimed it at Felix's neck, purposely missing and hitting the wall right next to it.

Everyone but Felix, Dimitri and a few others shrieked out of fear from Dimitri's sudden strike.

He was infuriated.

He was like a completely different person...

He roared at Felix like some kind of lion. **"DAMN YOU FELIX! WHY IN THE HELL DID YOU BRING HIM UP IN A STUPID TOPIC LIKE THIS?"**

Felix didn't flinch one bit. He gave his childhood friend a cold look. "But it's true isn't it? You would've ditched his life and then probably say something like my father said about his death, 'he died like a true knight' right?"

Dimitri's anger only just increased after he said that.

"Felix! Stop! That's enough! You don't need to..." Annette started to lose the words to say in this situation.

"Why? It's true isn't it? Wouldn't you agree, boar?" Felix challenged Dimitri.

"Please stop! It's....Please don't... Don't fight please!" Flayn could barely take it.

Sadly her words couldn't be heard by anyone in the room.

In fact everyone who wasn't Felix or Dimitri lost the words to say anything at all...

 **"FELIX YOU WILL DROP THE SUBJECT RIGHT HERE AND NOW OR I'LL TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF THOSE DISGUSTING SHOULDERS OF YOURS!"** Dimitri screamed at him while Felix just remained calm with that cold look on his face.

Felix just sighed...

He finally said something. "...Wow. I don't think I've ever seen you act like a completely different person. I mean..I knew you had a boar side beneath but I never imagined you'd truly be a heartless monster. I hate to admit that I once saw you as one of the most kind hearted people in the world but now... I feel like me and my brother were fools to think that you ever had a heart to begin with."

Dimitri's anger just increased again as Felix continued to challenge him. **"DON'T PUSH ANY FURTHER.. I'LL..I WON'T HESITATE TO DESTROY YOU!"**

Felix sighed again. "Listen. We are fighting the empire because we want this war to be over too. I get it. We all do. However since we found you in Ethereal Moon, I realised that all you want is to destroy Edelgard by yourself and you take out your anger on everyone."

No one said anything to that so Felix continued. "So what I have to say is...I don't care anymore. Go to the bridge and die for all I care. You were right about a few things though. The Professor was silly to protect someone as heartless as you Boar."

Dimitri continued glaring at Felix.

Everyone else just stared at the two.

Ashe sighed. He knew this might not be the right time but...

They just need to know or understand what's causing him to be like this.

Ashe finally got the courage to bring it up. "Listen Your Highness, something has been bothering me."

Dimitri quickly turned his head towards Ashe and yelled at him. "WHAT?"

Ashe hesitated to speak due to Dimitri's terrifying tone but he knew he had to ask this. "Well... I'm aware that you've always wanted to get revenge on the flame emperor but you weren't nearly as obsessed to kill her as before. You started being obsessed with the idea of killing the Flame Emperor when you found out that it was Edelgard...Why? Why does the Flame Emperor being Edelgard affect you so much? You had no connection with her at all.."

Everyone now wondered the same thing including Felix.

Dimitri said nothing he just glared at Ashe.

Mercedes tried to take control of the situation and raised her voice. "We WANT to understand Dimitri but you need to be honest with all of us. Did something happen between you and Edelgard before the events of the Holy Tomb or maybe even the tragedy of Duscur?"

Dimitri heard some voices in his head but not the same ghostly voices, he normally would hear.

**_"El, let's promise to be great friends forever ok?"_ **

**_"Yeah! I promise Dimitri!"_ **

He snapped out of his anger and from the control of the demonic voices.

He threw out a long, heartbroken sigh.

Those simple words from Mercedes unintentionally calmed him down.

It was surprising because no one expected that...

Dimitri finally spoke in a soft tone. _"...Fine...I won't go to the bridge."_

Sylvain was quick to ask him about it. "What? What's up with the quick change of mind there?"

"...It's..nothing. Just don't ask that again..." Dimitri walked away.

"Where are you going?" Ingrid asked.

"To the cathedral..." Dimitri sighed.

**_" P A T H E T I C "_ **

Dimitri allowed that voice to taunt his thoughts entirely.

He stopped walking but he didn't turn around. He opened his mouth to speak. "Please give the Professor the help she needs to recover..."

He said that softly and he sounded like he was genuine which surprised some of the people in the room.

Dimitri could sense some more scolding from the demonic voices again and so he walked away.

As he walked away, Dorothea, Annette and Hilda noticed something and heard him mumbling as he left.

_"I hate myself...I wish I could...I don't want this...I'm sorry Professor... I'm sorry everyone... Please allow me to suffer..." Dimitri mumbled his breath which the trio unintentionally heard. They also saw that he was shaking and holding back tears._

Hilda and Annette exchanged looks with Dorothea, wondering what that was...

They wondered if that was his true feelings...

Meanwhile, everyone discussed what the heck just happened.

"How did he get a sudden change of heart?" Mercedes asked.

"No idea...Did Edelgard ever have a connection with His Highness? Sylvain, Felix, Ingrid, do you know if he has a connection with her at all of the sort?" Ashe asked.

They all shook their heads while Felix shook his head slower than the other two.

"What is their connection?" Mercedes asked herself.

"Well...um did His Highness...mean what he said back there? You know...what he said about the professor and... him saying all that other stuff to the rest of us...? Do you think he meant that?" Ashe asked hesitantly.

Everyone was silent thinking about how quickly Dimitri changed from one minute to the next.

.....

None of them could really tell if he did mean what he had said before, after hearing him mumble Dorothea, Annette and Hilda were especially confused.

However they knew one thing for sure...

_Things are going to be a lot more hostile between them and Dimitri after that major argument..._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope this turned out fine? Well anyways, you'll notice in the future parts that everyone that was present in the room, is a bit hostile with Dimitri (specifically the original blue lion students) and I apologise if I didn't make it clear that Dimitri wasn't really thinking clearly in this chapter and that he was having a panic attack due to the voices in his head. Anywho, I can say this is the last non retell part of this month! Next part is another retelling but this time it is of the Great Bridge of Myriddin (chapter 16) and let's hope that it doesn't come out late lol. 
> 
> Ok so after a little while I published this part, I reread it and I realised I didn't make something clear. I apologise for that so I'll explain some context in this part. So neither Dimitri nor Felix are in the right here especially during that topic with Glenn however, neither of them were thinking clearly and let their anger took over their minds ever since Byleth got injured in the beginning of this part. When your angry like this, you don't know what your saying which can force you to blurt out things regardless of what is true. Dimitri doesn't at all believe that Byleth or anyone there is worthless. It is something he wishes he could believe but it isn't what he believes at all and part of Felix still believes that Dimitri has a heart somewhere even though he said what he said to Dimitri. Do not forget that while theses are fictional characters, they are also human with flaws and have their own tipping points. That doesn't justify anyone's actions here at all and you can bear a grudge against anyone here but please, keep that in mind. That's...kind of why I was a bit hesitant to write this part despite how much I wanted to write it. Anyways once again, I apologise if I didn't make that clear because to be honest, when I reread this, I felt like I didn't do a good job on that part of it.
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading! Love you all! (: (Also this is probably the longest part I've written for this whole book. I hope it was good though because while I was planning for this part for ages, I wasn't really sure how it turned out...yes I know I should be more confident but I never am because I'm so anxious all the time ughhh.)


	74. Broken Bridges & Bonds

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter fifteen and takes place only barely before chapter sixteen. Takes place after "Saint Indech Day" part, "Reflection" part, "Forgotten Hero" part, "Blue Blood" part, "Lost And Now Found" part, "Conflict In The Rain" part, "Endless Knot" part, "Shamir's Birthday" part and "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part. This part takes place on the 31st of Lone Moon and also the same day as chapter sixteen. Entire part is based on Chapter 16 (The Great Bridge Of Myriddan).

\-----

_Today was the day to finally invade the Great Bridge of Myriddan_

While Byleth's wound wasn't as bad as it was a few days ago, it was still bad. However, she couldn't sit out for this fight.

All she knew is that she had way to be way more careful in this mission.

When they arrived to the bridge, everything was going as planned.

Thankfully the leader of House Regan, Claude, is distracting House Gloucester soldiers so they do not get in the way.

This made Byleth feel way more relaxed. She really, _really_ didn't want to fight Lorenz...

However Gilbert, Byleth and Dimitri had to wait for Rodrigue to return before they make their move on the bridge.

One of their scouts returned, telling Gilbert the information and left.

Gilbert told Dimitri and Byleth what he was informed with. "Our scout has returned. As expected, there are quite a few Imperial soldiers stationed there."

Dimitri wasn't surprised. "I see. So, the enemy has prepared for our arrival... It matters not. I will kill them all, whether they are one or one hundred."

Byleth shook her head, objecting to that. "That's not necessary."

Dimitri frowned. "What would you do, if you saw the people who stole everything from you? If you saw them right before your eyes, living carefree lives and feeling no guilt. Would you feel nothing? Do nothing?"

Gilbert said nothing which made sense. What in the world could he say at this moment?

Byleth stayed silent and frowned. She didn't really know how to respond...

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Five years ago... Did you not deem the woman who killed Jeralt to be unforgivable?"

Byleth bit her lip. She couldn't deny that.

She still couldn't believe she risked her own students' lives just to kill Kronya...It was sickening to think about...

So Byleth couldn't really disagree with him there. She certainly did deem Kronya unforgivable.

Dimitri continued. "I am most certain that you did. You couldn't let her get away with her crime, so you took up your sword in pursuit."

Byleth opened her mouth to say something.

She wanted to deny it...

But she couldn't because he is actually correct about it...

That was _exactly_ what she did...

She spoke loud enough for Dimitri to hear. "You're right."

"Precisely my point. We're the same, you and I."

_Something about that statement just didn't feel right to say..._

_Dimitri just...didn't feel like he actually agreed with his own statement. It just felt so wrong to say_ _that_ _and he didn't know why..._

Out of nowhere, Felix walks to them and joins in the conversation.

No one knew that he was eavesdropping here...

Felix said something to Byleth. "You're wasting your time. There's nothing to be gained from exchanging words with a boar that has lost it's mind."

Gilbert scolded Felix. "Felix..."

Felix ignores Gilbert and has some stuff to say to his childhood friend. "This is war. Every last one of us has lost someone we care for. But we all choose to suppress our anger and grief and go right on living. Do you know why?"

Byleth answered for him. "Because it's pointless."

Felix nodded. "That's right. All the boar is accomplishing is stacking up more corpses."

Dimitri didn't quite understand Felix's point of view. "Tell me, Felix... If the dead are beyond reach, is it not also pointless to mourn or even bury those who are lost?"

Felix didn't want to bother arguing with Dimitri anymore especially with the other one that happened not so long ago. "Ha. That mind of yours. I'm done here."

Felix then turned his head towards Byleth, letting her know something. "Remember, Professor. It's not compassion for this fool that has brought our army so far. There are those of us who despise the Empire, and those who side with the Church."

Felix faced Dimitri. "If we keep running down this path, it's only a matter of time before the ground beneath us collapses."

Rodrigue returned and seemed to have heard part of that conversation. "That's enough, Felix."

Felix looked down. "Hmph. You're a damned fool, old man."

Rodrigue ignored his son and talked to Dimitri. "The soldiers are ready to march on your command."

Dimitri smirked. "Then let's move out at once. Every moment counts."

Rodrigue nodded. "Understood. Let's show those Empire dastards the power of the Knights of Faerghus!"

And so with that order, Byleth, Dimitri and the army began their invasion.

The army that was fighting with Byleth and Dimitri today was Felix, Ingrid, Sylvain, Mercedes, Marianne, Dorothea, Hapi & Hilda.

Dorothea seemed hesitant and Byleth even suggested for her to sit this one out but she for some reason refused.

She didn't want to sit out anymore. She had done that enough.

Ladislava the one commander of the Imperial army on the bridge noticed the Kingdom army. "That symbol...It's an enemy raid! Stay calm and face them head-on. Send the messenger to Acheron immediately! If we're quick, we might be able to pull off a pincer attack!"

Dimitri mumbled to himself. "Edelgard's dog, huh? All the more reason to kill her."

Rodrigue reminded Byleth the main aim. "Attack Ladislava and take the bridge. Shall we begin?"

She nodded as she looked around from where she was.

There were demonic beasts and soldiers.

One of the other commanders had orange hair that looked like...

Byleth removed the thought. It scared her to no end.

She and everyone else moved a bit more forward.

One of the soldiers charged towards her and she quickly killed them. However, another soldier showed up which made Byleth accidentally open her wound out of a sudden shock.

"Ugh! No! This wound...!"

"Say your prayers, Ashen Demon!"

Dimitri noticed and panicked again. "Professor! Move! You're going to get hit!"

"She can't move, remember? She got injured because of you Boar. Besides I thought you didn't care about her." Felix coldly said to him despite him being worried about Byleth himself.

Dimitri ignored Felix and tried to go to where she was.

But he was unable to due to the amount of soldiers blocking the area. He thought to himself, still terrified. _"Professor! No...not again. Not again. Why am I so damn useless...? I haven't gotten any stronger since...since...-"_

However, something happened. Something or rather...someone interfered in between Byleth and the soldier that almost landed an attack on her out of nowhere.

Byleth opened her eyes and saw that she was protected by someone's axe and shield.

She blinked. It looked kind of like...

_No way..._

Dimitri stared at the person who protected her.

The one who protected Byleth with their axe turned around to face her after they killed the soldier and helped her stand up. "Are you alright, Professor?"

Byleth's jaw dropped open.

New thoughts entered Byleth's mind. _"Is this real...? But I thought..."_

"Dedue? Are you Dedue?" Byleth couldn't resist asking.

He nodded.

This decreased the amount of soldiers that were once blocking where Byleth was from Dimitri.

Dimitri ran immediately to them both.

Faster than he ever had before.

Dedue faced Dimitri. "Your Highness! Apologies for the late arrival."

Dimitri was speechless, more than Byleth even. "Dedue...You're alive... How?!"

Dedue shook his head. "We can discuss it later. For now, allow me to join your forces."

Dimitri despite still being shocked, eventually nodded and focused on the battle.

Dorothea and Marianne ran to Byleth's aid while Hilda was walking not far behind.

"Bylie! You need to be more careful! Goodness...I don't know what to do with you."

"Aha..Sorry Dorothea..." Byleth sheepishly apologised.

"U-um Professor...over there...is that?" Marianne pointed towards the other commander on the bridge.

Byleth and Dorothea looked towards the direction that Marianne pointed at.

Their eyes widened when they had a better look.

"Is that...? No..Ferdie!" Dorothea gulped.

Byleth quickly suggested something. "I'll...try to reason with him. Maybe we can find a way through this."

"Oh please do! I can't stand the thought of killing him! Please!" Dorothea begged.

It was surprising. Ferdinand mentioned that Dorothea hated him for being like a "bee" so...it was surprising to see her care so much.

Then again...they were classmates and maybe even friends...

Byleth really hopes she can find a different way with him. The thought of killing him made her feel ill.

"We cannot afford to stand around! We..We must fight!" Marianne tried to sound confident.

Byleth and Dorothea hesitantly nodded and focused on the fight.

One of the Imperial soldiers in the fortress parts of the bridge had something to say. "You think we'll let you take this bridge from us?"

Rodrigue frowned. "This is no good...Reinforcements keep coming, and more will soon join them."

This made Byleth and everyone more alert which caused them to try and get quicker.

Once they were a bit closer to the fortress, Rodrigue alerted them again. "Let's deal with the enemies protecting the fortress quickly, and take control of this area."

There were four enemies protecting the fortress.

The one in the middle who seemed to be in main control of the fortress, alerted his comrades. "Enemies approaching! Get the soldiers standing by to join the fight! We may need to hurry up preparations of the ballista too. Protect the fortress!"

Yet this didn't stop Byleth and everyone else from going to the fortress.

They took it quite quickly which caused the enemy reinforcements to be halted.

Byleth decided to separate half of the army to the other commander that was around the north west while the other half take down Ladislava who was in the east of the area.

Byleth wasn't originally planning to take Marianne or Dorothea with her but they insisted on it for some reason.

They really wanted to know if it was actually...Ferdinand that was there...

They needed to confirm with their own eyes.

And so, Byleth took Dorothea and Marianne with her to where Ferdinand was.

Everyone else that didn't go with them, was meant to focus on the enemies around their area. They had Rodrigue so Byleth didn't feel too hesitant to leave them there just for a short while.

However, since there were no enemies near Dimitri or Dedue, he used this as a chance to talk to him.

"Dedue! Why... How are you here? You died. Five years ago..." Dimitri looked like he was going to cry.

"I was saved by my brothers. Men of Duscur." Dedue reassured him.

Dimitri was still shocked. "Those people you were with... They were of Duscur? And they saved you?"

Dedue nodded and changed the main subject. "Your Highness. I asked that you fulfill your long-held desire, did I not? Allow me to once again act as your sword and shield."

Byleth's attention went on them both as she could hear what they were saying.

Dorothea unintentionally did the same thing.

Dedue continued. "Please, let me witness your triumph. I want to behold the moment your wish is finally granted."

"Dedue... Of course. And in exchange, I ask that you swear something to me, here and now."

Dimitri had a completely different expression on his face now.

It wasn't the expression of monster...

It was the expression of a human. A sad, broken hearted human.

Byleth noticed it and so did many others.

With this expression on his face, he told Dedue something. "Do not ever throw your life away again. Understood?"

Dedue wasn't expecting but he nodded. "Your Highness... Understood."

Before anyone could do anything however, a bunch of soldiers just...suddenly appeared out of thin air behind the army (not counting Byleth, Marianne or Dorothea).

Ladislava grinned. "Acheron! Now's the time to show your loyalty to the Empire! Attack the enemy from behind!"

The blonde haired man who's name was apparently Acheron, obeyed the order. "I've got make my name known to Her Majesty through distinguished service."

Hilda made a face when she realised who that was. "Is that...Acheron? Isn't he from the Alliance territory?"

Rodrigue nodded. "Acheron, a minor lord of the Alliance territory... If he's fighting for the Empire, we've got no choice but to attack him."

Hilda groaned. "Blegh. What a pain."

Ingrid sighed at Hilda's groans of increasing discomfort.

Acheron had words to say to Dimitri before he attacked. "As they say, if you can't beat them, join them. I'm not in for a beating, am I?"

"Pft. Just you wait..." Dimitri disregarded his words.

Dimitri easily took him down.

Acheron said his last words. "Argh... I never should have allied with... the Empire..."

Meanwhile, Byleth and Dorothea tried to discuss how they could talk to Ferdinand as they got closer.

"Professor do you know what you're going to say?"

"Well I-"

"Professor! Dorothea! Look out!" Marianne raised her voice to get their attention.

Byleth and Dorothea then turned towards where Ferdinand was and saw a few bows being aim at them.

They dodged them all thankfully.

Byleth, Dorothea and Marianne all stared at Ferdinand.

"Well...It's a shame to meet again like this." Ferdinand sighed.

He had a few Imperial soldiers right next to him.

"Ferdie! Stop this right now!" Dorothea begged.

"Please! We were all classmates, we shouldn't be fighting like this!" Marianne also begged.

"Perhaps we were classmates once...but that was a long time ago."

Byleth frowned. "Ferdinand please listen to us! We don't want to kill you!"

"I'm sorry Professor but I chose to follow this path! If you don't want to kill me then you should be willing to let me kill you! I'm sorry but this is how things turned out!" Ferdinand charged up against them all.

Byleth instinctively swung her sword at him, giving him a severe injury.

"Gahh!" Ferdinand shrieked in pain.

"No!" Dorothea screamed.

She looked at what she just did with widened eyes.

Byleth thought to herself. _"I....just attacked..an old friend..?! What...No...I refuse to let this be!"_

She used divine pulse, just a bit before Ferdinand charged against her.

Instead of swinging her sword at Ferdinand, she shielded herself using her sword.

"Ferdinand..." Byleth frowned.

Suddenly some reinforcements arrived for Ferdinand.

The one leading the reinforcements looked... _painfully familiar._

Byleth's non beating heart was shattering more and more when she saw who it was that was joining the battle...

_Lorenz..._

He declared something as he arrived. "I, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, have arrived to join the battle in my father's stead!"

Ladislava thanked him for his aid. "Thanks for making your way here. Annihilate the enemy with the rest of them!"

Lorenz then recognised Byleth and was shocked. "Is that...the professor? Why would someone like that join such a senseless fight?"

Ferdinand grinned as he saw Lorenz. "Lorenz! Here you are. I am heading south, so I will leave this area to you."

"No Ferdie!"

Ferdinand backed away and went towards where Byleth was.

"L-lorenz? What are you doing here?" Marianne asked, shocked at the sight of seeing her classmate here.

"I am working for the Empire, that's why." Lorenz gave them all a cold look.

"Lorenz! We sho-"

"Don't try to change my mind. I chose this path just like Ferdinand, Bernadetta, Linhardt... Everyone.. I will not surrender even at death!" Lorenz demanded.

There was no way they could exchange words with him now...

Dorothea threw out a massive sigh. "I'm so sorry to do this to you Lorenz...I have no choice but to.. Kill you if yo-"

"No! We shouldn't!" Marianne cried.

Lorenz aimed his lance at Marianne but his attack was blocked by Byleth's sword.

He gave her a genuine smile. It has been a really long time since they've seen one another. "It's been a while, Professor. If this were anywhere but a battlefield, I would offer you tea. I've no choice but to follow the Empire, if I wish to live. I hope you will not think ill of me."

Marianne tried to say something "Lore-"

"I'm sorry but...We have no choice. You either flee or fight me. There is no other way." Lorenz sighed.

...

Byleth sadly nodded.

There was no choice now...

She had no choice but to...

"I'm sorry Lorenz...I'm sorry if I kill you.." Byleth apologised.

Lorenz smiled. "And I'm sorry if I kill you. I hope you forgive me for it."

"I will..." Byleth felt like crying.

Marianne and Dorothea knew there was nothing they could do for him anymore...

Byleth and Lorenz swung their weapons at each other.

Lorenz was a tough enemy but Byleth could manage...

...Physically not emotionally...

When Lorenz fell backwards, Byleth landed the final blow.

He let out a scream as Byleth stabbed him, ending his life for good.

It was a horrible scream...

It was probably going to be stuck in Byleth's mind

Lorenz could barely talk. "Lay me to rest...in a manner that is befitting...of the nobility..."

He then closed his eyes and stopped breathing forever.

Marianne's eyes were filled with tears at the sight of her old friend dying.

Ferdinand was shocked to see Lorenz fall so easily in battle.

"Ferdinand!" Byleth looked up and yelled.

He charged up against Dorothea but she quickly dodged that charge up.

She sighed and looked down. "Oh, Ferdie. You opposed Edie for so long... I had real hopes for you, you know?

She then looked back up with a disappointed expression. "Now you're following her. Is that your duty as a noble? Follow your master when they say to heel?"

Ferdinand frowned at this confrontation. "I will not try to explain my duty or hers. You would not understand."

He threw a sad sigh but gave her a serious look. "I wish you could. Anyway, no time for idle chitchat!"

He once again swung his lance at her but missed. She cast a spell on him.

It was a bad injury but it wasn't severe.

He then attempted another attack on Dorothea but Byleth and Marianne used their magic and weapons to guard Dorothea.

Ferdinand then looked at Byleth.

That look in his eyes he had...

Byleth then realised...there was no way she could convince him either...

So she had no choice now...

But to also...kill him...

Just like Lorenz...

Byleth shivered at the thought.

Ferdinand frowned as he said something to Byleth. "Edelgard has always been obsessed with you. I am a little envious, to be frank. I will just have to impress her with my skills on the battlefield!"

He then swung his lance at her which Byleth took steps backwards to only just barely miss it.

However that came with consequences.

Her wound..

"Professor! Be careful!" Dorothea said.

"I'm sorry Professor, I shouldn't have tried to get you to convince him. I'll...I'll help you..you know..." Dorothea looked sad.

Byleth felt her heart break but she knew that was something they need to do.

She and Dorothea attacked Ferdinand.

Byleth swung her sword and Dorothea casted thunder.

He screamed in pain just like Lorenz.

He fell down to the ground, in shock that it was now all over for him.

He had one wish left...

"I'm sorry Ferdinand..." Byleth mumbled as she walked past his body.

Ferdinand realised that Ladislava was surrounded by Dimitri and the others. He yelled out his last words. "Retreat, Ladislava! Tell Her Majesty about this!"

Ladislava was shocked. "We've already sent a messenger! I can't let you die while I flee!"

Ferdinand, barely able to breathe, still tried to say something... "In that case, please... Even if I die, you must protect this area."

He took his final breath and now let go of his life.

"Ferdinand... I'm sorry, we cannot let your last wish come true even now..." Marianne mumbled.

Felix and Dedue finally reached Ladislava. She couldn't believe how much they were losing right now even if she didn't want to admit it... "To repay Her Majesty's favour... I will not let you pass!"

They then injured her badly. She was struggling but she didn't want to give up at all... "I can't retreat... Even if it costs me my life, I've got to protect the Great Bridge."

Byleth and Dimitri coincidentally run into each other as this goes down while Marianne and Dorothea helped out the others now that they weren't separated anymore.

Then Felix swung his sword at her, doing the final blow.

She screamed in pain and fell down to the ground. "Lady Edelgard... I'm sorry..."

They won.

They won the battle...

**And yet...It didn't feel right...**

\-----

Everyone walked away to where Gilbert was other than Byleth and Dimitri.

Dimitri crossed his arms. He seemed rather conflicted... "It's a farce. All of it..."

Something about their deaths angered him. "Idiots. Embracing death for the sake of that woman. Truly foolish..."

Byleth was confused that he was feeling like that. "What troubles you?"

Dimitri didn't even know why he was feeling a bit...guilty. He couldn't hear his inner voices at the moment either. "I... I don't know."

Byleth asked him something. "Do you regret killing them?"

The inner demonic voices came back in his head when she asked that.

**_" Y O U D O N T R E G R E T I T R I G H T ? "_ **

"They were just beasts with human faces. I had no choice but to kill them, and so I did. That...that is all there is to it." He hesitated. It was like he wasn't even sure of anything or even himself anymore...

Rodrigue went over to them. "It's about time you two returned. We must discuss our next course of action."

They followed Rodrigue out of the bridge area until... they heard a child's voice.

"Please! I need to join you, no matter the cost!"

They heard a Kingdom's general's voice talk back. "I'm sorry, but my hands are tied..."

Rodrigue and Byleth went to them both first while Dimitri was a bit far behind them.

Rodrigue was irritated. "By the goddess! What's with all the commotion?"

The Kingdom General turned his head towards Rodrigue and the child turned her head towards the three of them.

When she looked at Dimitri, she...made some type of face unintentionally.

Dimitri didn't notice it but Byleth did.

Byleth had a weird feeling about this child.

Rodrigue asked the Kingdom General about this. "What is this girl doing here? This is an army, not an orphanage."

The Kingdom General explained. "I believe she's from a nearby village. She keeps insisting that she needs to join our ranks."

"And you thought we could use a child on the front lines? Hurry up and take her back to her parents."

The little girl looked down and sounded desperate. "My family is gone. I don't have anywhere else to go."

Dimitri understood how this girl felt...

She continued to beg. "Please! I can use magic and I can fight! I can cook, do laundry, anything!"

Rodrigue was confused why she wanted to join so badly. "I'm sure there are plenty of more suitable places to find work. Why are you so fixated on this army, young lady?"

The little girl had a look on her. It was full of anger. "I need...to get revenge. I must strike down the one who murdered my big brother."

 _"Revenge huh?_ " Dimitri thought to himself, relating to the little girl's problem.

Something about this little girl seemed off to both Byleth and Rodrigue though.

Rodrigue asked Dimitri what he thought. "Your Highness... What should we do?"

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Let her do as she pleases."

She grinned mischievously which made Byleth feel uncomfortable. "Thank you... very much."

Byleth didn't trust her for some reason...

She didn't really know why but just didn't...

However there was nothing she could do about it...

...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Damn this part was heartbreaking to write but I'm glad I finally wrote it. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Welp, now Lone Moon is completely finished! Let's get on to Great Tree moon shall we? And then...Gronder. Yikes. Also, I put Dedue's dialogue with Dimitri earlier because it makes way more sense that way in my opinion.


	75. Reasons...

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place on the fourth of the Great Tree Moon. Based on Dorothea's dialogue about Ferdinand. Recommended for you to read Broken Bridges & Bonds before you read this part.

\-----

_There is no telling of what could happen in the next mission_

The Imperial Army responded to Byleth's and Dimitri's army taking over The Great Bridge of Myriddin by collecting reinforcements at Fort Merceus...

What Byleth and Dimitri's army is going to do is attack the Imperial Army at gronder field later this month which at the moment is being led by Emperor Edelgard.

They might even potentially make enemies with the alliance...

Byleth knew that killing and facing familiar faces such as Lorenz and Ferdinand was inevitable no matter what decision that would've been made so it wasn't anyone's fault besides the one who started the war in the first place, Edelgard.

She was still extremely heartbroken from those shrieks in pain that Lorenz and Ferdinand did four days ago...and taking her sword out of their bodies...and.....their last words....

**_"Lay me to rest...in a manner that is befitting...of the nobility..."_ **

**_"Even if I die, you must protect this area."_ **

That's all she could hear for the past few days...

**_It was haunting...not to mention...she is the reason why they said those words and shrieked in pain..._ **

She also felt way worse than usual when she was cleaning the blood off her sword.

_Blood from people that she once considered not just students, but also friends..._

.....

She wanted to stop this feeling...

Since there were no plans today, she wanted to fish early in the morning to get her mind off those screams and....nightmares...

When she went to the fishing pond, she saw someone crying their eyes out, right in front of the water.

"I...can't..." The sobbing person mumbled to herself.

Byleth recognised who it was almost immediately. It was Dorothea...

It seemed like she was having a hard time after that mission.

It hurt to see her like this too...

Especially since she was so happy not too long ago when she did that gatekeeper impersonation...

"Dorothea? Your..." Byleth struggled to find the words to say.

Dorothea didn't turn around. She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Oh...Hello Professor."

"Are you...you know...?" Byleth quietly confronted Dorothea.

Dorothea turned around and nodded.

She said something in a soft tone, clearly trying to not cry. "The Great Bridge of Myriddin was considerably better fortified than it was five years ago...The bridge was full of soldiers...and they all died."

Dorothea then struggled to speak when remembering him... "And Ferdie was there. We killed Ferdie, Professor, he used to be our friend. Do you remember those days?"

Byleth wishes she didn't remember at this point...

It was better not remembering than to remember...

She hated it. She hated how these memories that were once happy will remain sad and haunting for the rest of her life.

Dorothea then couldn't hold it back anymore. "And now we don't even know what's next! We'll be fighting Edie and Hubie soon. And...Bern and Lin...might be there."

Byleth didn't know how to respond.

Dorothea snapped. "Well? Don't you care? They were your students! We should've done something about it! Why couldn't you save our friends? You're were their Professor...so why did-"

Dorothea cut herself off and put her hand over her mouth in shock.

Dorothea thought to herself on what she just said to her best friend. _"Wha...What did I just say?"_

She was disgusted that she said something so rude to her friend...

Byleth looked down. She didn't deny it because **she knew Dorothea was right**.

**_They were her students...and she failed them..._ **

**_What kind of professor kills her own students?_ **

"I'm...I'm so sorry Professor! I..I'm just so heartbroken and I...I.. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore...Just why? Why does it have to...be this way...? I'm such a stupid fool and I'm a horrible friend to you."

Byleth shook her head. "It's fine Dorothea."

"It isn't! I just said something so horrendous to you!"

"Really...I'm fine." Byleth lied even though she still forgave Dorothea.

_In reality...Byleth wasn't fine in the least bit..._

"I just wish I told Ferdie the reason why I used to hate him at least...I'm such a fool...I" Dorothea started sobbing even more.

Byleth pulled her friend for a hug and tried to comfort her.

Kind of like how Marianne and Dimitri once did for her...

"I..I don't want to kill Bern or Lin.. They were my friends! I shouldn't.. Why Professor? Why can't things just be happy again? Why...just why..." Dorothea ranted as she sobbed.

Byleth said nothing. She didn't know what to say.

Dorothea pulled out of the hug. "Professor...I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying.."

"It's ok Dorothea... I understand." Byleth gave her a reassuring smile.

"Professor, Dorothea, What's going on?" Manuela walked in the conversation.

"Manuela!" Dorothea wasn't too pleased to see Manuela at the moment.

"Dorothea? You're crying?! Did someone make you cry? If so, I'll make them cry." Manuela looked like she was ready to kill someone

Dorothea slightly chuckled even though she was still crying and she shook her head. "No Manuela...I'm just...I just can't get over the fact that..Ferdie is gone..."

Manuela sadly sighed. "...Yeah..."

Dorothea tried to wipe her own tears.

Byleth tried to reassure her. "Dorothea. It's ok, you do-"

"No...really. I feel better now. Thank you Professor for listening to me rant. I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I'm such a horrible student and friend..."

"You're not a horrible student Dorothea. I forgive you for saying that." Byleth gave her a reassuring smile.

"..Thanks." Dorothea said a bit more happily.

Dorothea spoke again. "But can I say something Professor?"

Byleth tilted her head in confusion. "Of course. What is it?"

"Please...don't...don't EVER let yourself get killed..." Dorothea said.

Byleth really wasn't expecting that but she nodded anyways. "I won't let myself get killed but only if you don't let yourself get killed either Dorothea."

Dorothea smiled and nodded. She and Manuela walked away.

Byleth decided to fish.

She thought about what Dorothea said...

She sighed.

There was no telling what could happen...

And what Dorothea said about Bernadetta and Linhardt... It was a bit sickening to think about...

She hopes that she wouldn't face those two on the battlefield... ** _ever..._**

But most of all...

She still couldn't believe that she killed her students...

Even though it was inevitable... still...

_That type of guilt for sure is something she'll have a hard time living with probably for the rest of her life..._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry if Dorothea was out of character or unlikeable here. Hope you enjoyed this part regardless though(:


	76. A Promised Trip

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place on the 6th of Great Tree Moon. Takes place after "Reasons..." part. Takes place after Byleth & Dedue's A support. Recommended for you to read "Broken Bridges & Bonds" before this part.

\-----

_Byleth went to go and check on the flowers in the morning._

The nightmares about Ferdinand & Lorenz dying the way they did... just wouldn't stop consuming her mind and dreams...

So she unintentionally woke up very early..again.

She wanted to check on the flowers in the greenhouse and maybe water them too.

So she headed there after she got dressed.

However, when she went there, she wasn't expecting company.

Ashe and Dedue were there, already checking the flowers.

It brought back some...memories.

_They used to do this all the time in the academy days._

She stopped walking when she was at the entrance.

Both Ashe and Dedue heard her footsteps and turned around.

"Oh Professor! Hello! Did you come here to check on the flowers too?" Ashe smiled when he saw her.

Byleth was taken off guard by that. "Huh?! Oh uh..Yes I did."

"Hmm..Not to sound rude but this early in the morning? That's rather rare."

Byleth flinched a bit from that comment and came up with a lie. "Yeah, I just slept early last night."

"Ah. I see."

Ashe quickly asked something out of realisation. "How's the injury by the way? Does it still hurt?"

"The wound is still there but it barely hurts now." Byleth smiled at the fact that Ashe is caring about that even now.

"That's good but still try to be careful." Ashe seemed relieved.

"Injury?" Dedue seemed rather alert.

"Ah just a few days before we fought at the bridge, The Professor got stabbed when shielding His Highness from a surprise attack from behind." Ashe clarified.

Dedue seemed even more alert. "She got injured from shielding His Highness?"

"Yes but it turned out ok now." Byleth confidently said.

Dedue sighed and looked guilty. "You have my gratitude again for helping His Highness... however...That's my fault... I apologise for not arriving earlier to be the one to shield him instead, you wouldn't have that injury if I-"

Byleth cut him off. "Please don't blame yourself for something like that Dedue, It wasn't your fault at all. I only barely saw the sudden attack and didn't have time to think. So please, don't get mad at yourself."

Dedue sighed again. "As you wish but please, don't let yourself get killed out there."

Ashe joined in. "We'd all be devastated if we lost you Professor."

Byleth tilted her head down.

She didn't answer.

She thought to herself. **_"Ferdinand and Lorenz probably would be happy if I were killed..."_**

"...Professor?" Ashe tried to get her attention.

Byleth sighed. "Well...the same goes for you guys too. We'd all be deva- No I would be devastated if you left."

"Please do not waste your time being sad about me if I die, Professor." Dedue said under his breath.

"Dedue...I was heartbroken when I heard you were killed. I..I'm really happy that you're alive. If we lost you again, I..."

Byleth didn't finish her sentence.

Ashe nodded and agreed with her. "Yeah... Dedue please do not ever let yourself get killed."

"Well... I did promise that I would try to live until the end of the war to see the Duscur flowers in full bloom with the Professor...so I'll try but.." Dedue lost the words to say.

"Can you promise you will instead of try?" Byleth asked.

Dedue shook his head. "No. I cannot promise I will live as I would gladly give up my life to save His Highness. But I will try to not let myself get killed. I'm sorry. However, if it does not come to that then...I will live."

_Byleth self noted to make sure to use divine pulse if that situation ever happens._

"...Are you going to serve His Highness when the war is over Dedue?" Ashe asked in a bit of a sad tone.

"Yes."

Ashe wasn't surprised. "I see...Well when all of us three live..No I will count His Highness. How about the four of us do something with each other some time after the war does end?"

"Like what?" Byleth asked.

"We travel with each other to the fields of where our favourite flowers are in full bloom." Ashe suggested.

Dedue smiled. "That sounds lovely. I hope that we get to have that trip soon."

"I'm sure we will, Professor what do you think?" Ashe turned over to Byleth.

She was quite fond of that idea.

She nodded. "I love that idea. It sounds wonderful."

...Almost too wonderful.

Only problem was that Byleth wasn't even sure what she was going to do after the war.

But she decided not to think about it now.

There was also the problem with Dimitri but again, she put that thought aside for now...

A trip with three of her special friends...

It did sound nice.

"Perfect! Let's try to make sure that happens someday!" Ashe had an adorable grin on his face.

Byleth smiled.

_It really did feel nice to talk to Ashe and Dedue like this again..._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry it's short but this part will have its relevance...haha very soon lol.


	77. Peculiar

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part and the "A Promised Trip" part. Takes place on the 11th of Great Tree Moon. Recommended for you to read "Broken Bridges & Bonds" before this part.

\-----

_In the late afternoon, Byleth went to the Cathedral._

She wanted to see if...well Dimitri was there again.

She hadn't really seen him that much lately and well...she wanted to talk him...

When she arrived at the Cathedral, something caught her eye.

Dimitri was indeed there...

But he was not alone. There was a little girl with him.

It was the same child that they met at the bridge a couple of days ago..

The child that gave Byleth this really odd vibe.

It seemed like Dimitri and the child were talking about something

Byleth hid near the entrance so she could eavesdrop.

She knew it was none of her business but...she just knew she had to do it.

The child spoke again when Byleth hid. "So your Prince Dimitri and you want to get revenge on the emperor?"

"Yes. But, I hope you don't mind me asking about the one you want to get revenge on for killing your brother. Are they a beast...like the emperor?"

She looked angry when she tilted her head down from that question. "Much, much worse than the emperor would ever be."

"Is that so?" Dimitri crossed his arms.

He felt disgusted that there is someone worse than Edelgard would exist out there.

Then again, he wasn't surprised.

The child had a dangerous look in her eyes that wasn't too different to Dimitri's when the subject of Edelgard is brought up. "Yes. They are a beast...They will pay for what they have done to me and my brother! They killed my brother, in the most monstrous way possible just like they did to all of their other victims!"

"I assume they felt no guilt."

"Of course not. The killer took pleasure the more they tortured him to death..." The child shivered.

Byleth tried to get a bit closer to where they were without being seen in the process so that she could see the child and Dimitri more clearly.

Dimitri was even more disgusted that such a beast could exist. "...Sounds like the actions from a true monster."

"Oh yes, they certainly are. **I swear it, I will make them suffer and suffer just like they made my own brother suffer... I WILL make sure that will happen!"**

Dimitri smirked seeing this girl's thirst for revenge.

**And yet he hates that because it reminds him of himself...**

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" S U F F E R "_ **

He could hear his inner voices again...

Honestly, he knew that he wasn't any better than the monster that killed her brother...or Edelgard for that matter...

_But it's too late to do anything about that now.._

"I...I will make sure you get your revenge on the monster who killed your brother!" Dimitri reassured the child.

Her eyes brightened up. "Wait. Really? You Will?!"

Dimitri nodded.

The child still didn't believe him. "Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise." Dimitri smirked.

The girl looked rather mischievous than pleased. "Thank you...so much. ** _I really appreciate your help, your highness._** "

Something about the way she said that, sounded off to Byleth for some reason.

It was like the girl had some type of hidden motive.

Dimitri didn't sense it though. He gently patted the girl's head and she just had a much more terrifying grin on her face...

.....

Byleth tried to get a bit closer.

However, unfortunately for her, Dimitri saw her again.

"What are you doing here Professor?" He sighed and completely turned towards where she was hiding.

"Huh?" The child was taken aback by that sudden confrontation.

She looked at where Dimitri was looking.

Byleth got out of her hidden spot.

"Oh! Aren't you the commander? I heard that you're an excellent fighter!" The child asked curiously.

"I've been told yes." Byleth nodded.

"Did you spy on our conversation the whole time?" Dimitri asked.

Byleth said nothing.

"Well? Did you?"

"...I only came in where she confirmed that you were a prince."

"So basically the whole conversation."

.....

There was a painfully awkward silence.

Though in Dimitri's head, it was the opposite of silence...

**_" M O N S T E R "_ **

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Well did you need something...?"

"...No, not really."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was just checking if you were here so calm down." Byleth sighed.

"Pft." He sighed and left the cathedral.

Byleth was a bit frustrated. "Dammit Dimitri..."

The little girl noticed that. "Why did you need to check on him?"

Byleth closed her eyes and forgot that it was the kid she was talking to. "I..I just wish th- err...."

She cut herself off when she realised who it was she was talking to.

She looked pale. "...Sorry that you saw that whole thing."

"It's fine. Well..does it hurt you seeing him like this?" The kid asked curiously.

Byleth frowned. She didn't answer the question.

Something in her gut told her to never answer that.

The kid took her silence as a yes. **_"Well..I assure you that you won't feel hurt like that anymore soon."_**

Byleth quickly turned her head towards the kid. "You have the wrong idea- Wait what?"

"Oh, sorry. It's nothing. Erm..I just meant when he kills Edelgard, he'll probably stop acting so revenge like... hehe...well, I'll see you around! Thank you guys once again for letting me in the army!" The kid turned away and left. Making sure that Byleth doesn't catch her grin.

............

Something felt even more off now...

Perhaps that comment about Dimitri that kid said was meant to be reassuring but it actually made Byleth feel worse.

Yet....Byleth had no idea why...

_How peculiar..._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here is a part about...well Fleche obviously. Reason I didn't mention her name here is because the only one's who know it's Fleche is the player. Neither Byleth nor Dimitri ever find out who she actually is lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this part.


	78. The Dagger

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part & "Peculiar" part. Takes place on the 11th of Great Tree Moon. Recommended for you to read "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part first. Also references the "Chaos and Trust" part and the "One's True Feelings" arc.

\-----

_It was raining again today._

So most of the training, instructing etc was done inside today instead of outside because people don't want to risk getting colds.

When it was the late afternoon and everyone was done for the day but they didn't exactly go outside.

They just stayed indoors most of the time.

Byleth was relaxing in the dining hall along with Felix, Sylvain & Ingrid.

They were all sitting at the table and were done eating their food.

Ingrid and Byleth sat next to each other at the table while Sylvain and Felix sat on the opposite end of the table.

Despite being finished, they were still engaged in conversation with one another.

Sylvain started the conversation. "Hey Ingrid, Felix, Professor, got any plans for the future?"

"Huh?" Felix didn't understand what he meant.

"Well... I mean, what do you guys plan on doing after... you know when the war is finished?"

"...Where did that come from?" Ingrid seemed puzzled.

"Well you know, I don't know..I got curious." Sylvain nervously chuckled.

Ingrid rolled her eyes but she answered regardless. "Hmm... Well to answer your question, I've admittedly haven't given it enough thought yet..Though I'd love to be a knight but I'm not sure if it's possible at this point in time."

"Heh. Typical." Felix scoffed.

Ingrid gave him the stink eye but Felix just ignored it.

So she confronted him about it. "Oh so I guess you've got better plans after the war?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "I don't have much plans either but it's certainly better than being a knight."

"Fel-"

"Ok... moving on." Sylvain cut off this argument.

"Hmph. Well, what do you plan on doing after the war Sylvain? Anything spectacular?" Felix said sarcastically.

Sylvain chuckled a bit. "Well I wouldn't call it spectacular haha..."

Sylvain then looked a bit serious. "Though..I do plan on going back to Gautier...There's something I must do there. Something....important. Something that should've been done by anyone a long time ago."

No one at the table expected this response.

Byleth finally spoke. "Then..what is it you plan on doing?"

Sylvain smiled at her. "That's a secret. You'll see though, soon enough."

Byleth looked even more confused now.

"Oh yeah, Professor, have you made any plans after the war?" Sylvain then moved the focus on her.

For some reason, both Felix and Ingrid were intrigued to find out what her answer was.

Byleth bit her lip. She admittedly hadn't given it too much thought yet

"I..don't really know. Maybe...I'll go back to being a mercenary." Byleth sighed.

"Wait what? A mercenary? Why?" Sylvain was caught off guard by that.

Byleth frowned. "There isn't much of a choice really and I have no interest at staying in the monastery for the Archbishop's sake."

Felix grinned. "Smart choice. I do hope you stay in the Faerghus territory though. That way I can still have a great frien- I mean sparring partner nearby."

Sylvain face palmed at Felix's comment and Ingrid just sighed.

Byleth nodded. "I think I will."

"Great."

"Damn.. I can't say I was expecting that to be honest." Sylvain seemed disappointed.

"Oh? Was there anything in particular you expected?" Byleth tilted her head in curiosity.

"Well, I assumed you and heh.. A certain guy, would be a coup- er.." Sylvain cut himself off.

He felt the glares come from Ingrid and Felix.

Byleth didn't quite get it.

"Sylvain you moron! This isn't the time to joke about that!" Ingrid scolded him.

"Besides, I highly doubt that considering what he said last moon." Felix face palmed.

"You mean that...argu-?" Sylvain looked nervous.

"Obviously I mean that. He literally badmouthed her and the rest of us and showed his true colours as the monster he is." Felix spoke coldly.

Byleth still didn't quite get what was going on right now or what they were talking about.

"Do you think he actually meant that though? He clearly cared when she almost died even though he said the opposite. He was clearly out of his mind..again. Truth be told, I think he barely meant anything he said then and the same goes for what you said back then too." Sylvain sighed sadly.

"Yeah..whatever. If that's what you believe then, foolishly believe in that." Felix hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Byleth asked.

"Nothing." Both Felix and Sylvain said simultaneously

Byleth noticed their odd...behaviour.

Sylvain tried to get back to the main previous topic. "Well anyways Professor, I just assumed you would...be a knight of Seiros or something."

Byleth shook her head. "...It wouldn't work out."

"How s-"

Sylvain's sentence got cut off from the rain pouring louder and louder.

They all looked towards the direction the rain came from. For some reason, the door of the dining hall was open.

"Sheeesh! This rain is berserk!" Sylvain complained.

"I wonder when it will stop soon." Byleth sighed.

"Sylvain, could you close the doors on both sides of the dining hall?" Ingrid asked.

Sylvain gave her a confused look. "Huh? Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're the closest to one of the doors."

Sylvain let out a huge groan. "Seriously? Ugh, what kind of reason is that?"

"Are you acting lazy?" Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"I'm not acting. I am."

"..Gosh I'm surprised you've been on as many missions as you have been on despite that attitude of yours. Just can you please do it." Ingrid face palmed.

Sylvain complained like a child. "Urghhhh...Fine I will."

Sylvain got off his chair and went to close the door that went to the garden tea tables.

He shut it and then went to the door that led to the fishing pond.

As he was going to shut it, something close to the marketplace caught his eye.

"Hey is that? Yeah, that's His Highness!" He said out loud to himself without realising it.

Dimitri didn't hear him but Byleth, Ingrid and Felix did.

Byleth looked surprised and thought to herself. _"What? Is he outside?"_

Sylvain closed the door and went back to them.

"Sylvain, did you say that Dimitri was outside?"

"Er..did I say that out loud?" Sylvain nervously chuckled.

"Hmph. What if he is? What are you going to do?" Felix asked.

"Get him out of that pouring rain and to see how he is right now. Don't worry you three, I'll be back shortly." Byleth said.

As Byleth started to walk away, Felix sighed at her.

Something about that sigh...felt off to Byleth.

"Is there something wrong Felix?" Byleth couldn't resist asking.

"Kind of. That boar has lost its mind and always refuses to listen to anyone because he considers them "not worth the dirt on my shoes". When trying to talk to that...creature, try to keep that in mind." Felix looked away.

Byleth didn't know how to respond to that. She wanted to argue but she couldn't find the words to say.

Felix looked back at her. "Anyways, go on."

Byleth frowned and walked out of the dining hall.

"Felix.." Ingrid glared at her childhood friend.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms and looked away from Ingrid.

Byleth wondered why they were all acting like this but she couldn't think about that right now.

When she went outside of the entrance for the dining hall, it seemed like Sylvain was right about Dimitri being here.

Byleth noticed something about him though.

That...he was staring at something he was holding in his hands...

It looked like a dagger...

No it _was_ a dagger...

It was kind of hard to tell though, she wasn't close enough to see what it was and the rain was being a real pain to deal with at the moment.

Byleth walked a bit closer trying to get a better look.

The dagger was rather plain and it was a bit blue in colour.

Despite that though....This dagger looks kind of familiar...

......

Byleth realised what the dagger was and she thought to herself. _"It was the dagger the Flame Emperor or Edelgard dropped! Why would he still have that now?"_

Dimitri noticed her presence again.

He sighed and put the dagger away.

"Did you want something?" He turned around to face her.

"Oh Dimitri..Uh..." Byleth stuttered and was caught off guard by that outburst of Dimitri.

"....." Dimitri just had his arms crossed once again.

Byleth couldn't help but comment about the dagger. "Dimitri, that dagger you were holding..."

He looked slightly afraid that she noticed that he was holding a dagger but quickly got over it. "I wasn't holding a dagger."

Byleth sighed. "Don't lie. That dagger was Edelgard's, wasn't it? When she dropped it when we were eavesdropping on her while she was the Flame Emperor...Talking to Moni- I mean Kronya."

"Hmph. I'm surprised you'd remember something like that." Dimitri looked away.

"Why wouldn't I?" Byleth asked.

"Why would you remember something that happened five years ago?"

"Then how did you remember?"

No one said anything after that confronting question from Byleth.

"Tsk. Well. Your point? Why do you care about the dagger?" Dimitri looked away and changed the topic.

"Calm down Dimitri, don't be hostile again over something like this. I'm just surprised you'd still have that dagger. That is all! Gods..." Byleth frowned at Dimitri and did a irritated sigh while she stood up for herself against the grumpy attitude Dimitri was pulling again.

.....

 ** _" P A T H E T I C "_** Dimitri's inner voices haunted him again just like always.

Then he realised something. That Byleth may not know this is the same dagger as the one he told her about...

"Do you know anything about this dagger?" Dimitri confronted.

Byleth was now really confused. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I don't understand though. What do you even mean by that question?" Byleth felt a bit conflicted, frustrated from this ridiculous game Dimitri was trying to pull.

"So you haven't connected this dagger to another story I told you about?"

Byleth frowned. She still didn't quite understand.

"Another story...?"

.....

Then...suddenly she thought about it and it hit her.

**Dimitri told Byleth that he gave Edelgard a dagger as a parting gift...**

**And he looked a bit out of it when he saw the dagger the flame emperor dropped that time too...**

Byleth was shocked as she was thinking. _"So does that mean...?"_

Dimitri saw that she was looking so shocked while she took the time to think about the connection. "I'm guessing you understand now."

"Dimitri...is that the same dagger you gave her all those years ago? Was this the dagger you were referring to back then?"

"Yes."

Byleth was speechless and scolded him. "That's ridiculous! Why would you keep something like that?"

"That's... that's none of your business." Dimitri said in a soft tone and then sighed. He shook his head and walked away to go inside the entrance hall, relieved that no one else heard their conversation.

He just left Byleth there, shocked.

The same dagger...

It shouldn't be all that surprising but Byleth still couldn't believe it.

Not only was it the same dagger but even now, he still kept that...

Byleth wondered to herself. _"Why in the world would he keep something like that...? Just...what are you planning to do with it Dimitri?"_

_It certainly was interesting..._

.....

_Byleth just stayed where she was despite the rain pouring on her and she just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she only just now connected the dots..._

_But even still...why does Dimitri even have it? Who would keep something like that after what happened...?_

_And when she asked why... It made him sad..._

\-----


	79. Tension

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part & "A Dagger" part. Takes place on the 14th of Great Tree Moon. Recommended for you to read "Broken Bridges & Bonds" and "Peculiar" part before this one. Before Byleth & Felix's A Support.

\-----

_In the late afternoon, Byleth and Felix were having a sparring match once again._

Though it was a bit close, Byleth was still in the lead.

"Hyaaah!" Byleth almost won but Felix quickly dodged.

He aimed but she quickly defended herself in time.

It was relieving that the injury from a few days ago wasn't affecting her majorly like before, if it still injured her badly then she probably wouldn't be sparring with Felix.

Felix slightly lost his balance which gave Byleth a chance to win.

"Think fast." Byleth taunted in a playful way.

"Gah!"

...

Byleth had won once again which left Felix feeling disappointed in himself.

"I lost again..." Felix sighed.

Byleth tried to cheer him up. "Aw sorry Felix. I know you can beat me soon though!"

Felix groaned at her consolation. "Ugh..you sound like Mercedes.. You don't need to say it like that."

Byleth then crossed her arms and joked with him with some deep voice. "Ok, sorry that I beat you again...?"

"A bit much..." Felix frowned.

Byleth sighed and face palmed as she thought to herself. _"You're impossible Felix."_

Felix then spoke again. "I gotta say though, your sword techniques are- ...?"

He cut himself off when he thought he saw something.

Byleth was confused. "Is something wrong?"

"It seems like someone was hiding and watching our sparring match." Felix didn't hesitate in pointing out.

"Huh?!" Byleth looked at where he was pointing.

Her eyes widened when she saw what he was talking about.

.....

It was the maiden from before again. The child they met at the great bridge of Myriddin.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude!" She looked ashamed of herself.

"Was there something you needed?" Felix asked unintentionally in a cold tone.

"Well...I um.. Nothing really. I just watched you guys sparring. You both are amazing!" The child looked excited.

The child's excitement... It reminded Byleth of something else...

It reminded Byleth of that time when she was helping the orphans that were staying at the monastery..

Speaking of which, Byleth wonders how they are now..

They moved to imperial territory the last time she saw them. She hopes that they're ok.

Felix just looked away and said nothing to the child's comment.

......

This got really awkward now..

Byleth wasn't sure what to say so she said something simple. "Thank you. That's very nice of you."

The little girl grinned which should've made Byleth feel relieved but...

For some reason it didn't.

The grin felt a bit insincere.

Felix sighed. "So, is that boar prince teaching you how to get revenge?"

The child tilted her head in confusion. "Um..boar?"

"Dimitri or His Highness." Byleth clarified, shooting Felix a look that he pretended to not see.

The child looked like she was trying to not laugh at the insult. "Ah..well, sort of...?"

"Of course he is... What an idiot." Felix said cruelly.

"Oh? I thought you all were fighting for the same reason?" The child was surprised.

"Of course not. I have my reasons and unlike him, I have no interest in stacking up corpses. Same could be said for anyone here that isn't a fool like my old man."

.....

Byleth sighed at that comment.

The child on the other hand was still surprised. "Ah. Interesting."

"Why? You gonna judge me for it?" Felix taunted.

The child shook her head. "Why would I? I'm actually happy to see that everyone has their own reasons for fighting. I'm guessing the lady commander next to you has her own reasons that aren't really about revenge. It's cool."

The child was...certainly unusual.

Felix crossed his arms. "Huh. I guess you get it. Wish that boar could. You're surprisingly mature for someone who wants to get revenge."

Byleth's frown stayed on her face still even now.

The child smiled even though that wasn't really a compliment. "Why thank you. You're very nice."

Felix closed his eyes. "Um...That wasn't- Whatever. Why am I still here anyways? Just let me know when you want to have another match later Professor."

Felix opened his eyes and left Byleth with the child.

Byleth and the child just stared at each other. Not really knowing what to say.

"Um...I'll see you around, I suppose." Byleth walked away too.

The child said nothing, just waved...

.....

 _"What was that all about?"_ Byleth wondered to herself as she left.

\-----


	80. Raid

\-----

Takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part, "A Dagger" part and "Tension" part. Takes place on the 17th of the Great Tree Moon. References "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part.

\-----

_When Byleth walked in the Cathedral in the morning, she found Gilbert there._

He gave her a mission when he talked to her, which was quite unexpected.

Apparently, some merchants have gotten themselves killed from some thieves not too far from here.

However, there aren't that many thieves and their hideout is at a camp near Garreg Mach even though it's in a grassy area.

He asked her to do a sneak attack on them and then eliminate them with a small army so no more merchants can get killed by them anymore.

Byleth though still had questions to ask. "What do you mean by a small army?"

"About seven of you and you cannot take His Highness. He may..." Gilbert sighed and didn't finish his sentence.

Byleth frowned and kind of understood why Gilbert is forbidding it.

"...I think you understand. Do not tell him about this mission either." Gilbert sighed.

Byleth nodded. She was quite relieved that she didn't have to take Dimitri for this one.

However...if only she knew that there was a certain someone, eavesdropping on her.

Regardless, Byleth ran out of the cathedral to get some of her friends. The ones that agreed to help her out were Felix, Sylvain, Ashe, Mercedes, Petra & Yuri.

And so with that, she and the army made their way to where the enemies may be.

The thieves' hideout wasn't exactly in the most obvious area, however from what Gilbert described, Byleth had a feeling she knew where they may be hiding if they were attacking Merchants that walked from the north east of Garreg mach to the monastery.

She did use her map regardless of already being in the grassy area.

"Did you know what you're doing?" Felix asked coldly.

Byleth nodded. "Yes. I have an idea on where they may be."

Everyone seemed confident in their Professor.

They think this mission will go smoothly.

Petra however, looked a bit off.

She for some reason kept glancing behind her every now and then.

Ashe noticed it and asked her about it. "Uh Petra? Is something wrong?"

"I feel...uncertain about something." Petra frowned.

"Huh?"

"Something doesn't feel right."

Ashe still didn't quite get Petra's vague speaking.

She sighed and tried to get back in focus.

"Oh! Professor! I think that might be it!" Sylvain pointed towards a direction.

Byleth's eyes followed where he pointed at. It was a tent, with a few thieves partying and celebrating for some reason.

Byleth nodded. "It might be. We must get closer and then hide!"

Everyone nodded and went a bit closer.

When they were close enough, they hid in the nearby bushes so they couldn't be seen.

Sylvain whispered first. "Ok, what should we do?"

"Just wait a bit. I still need to confirm." Byleth said.

They then watched these thieves have a little conversation and party.

"Haha! Those losers didn't see what was coming!" One of the thieves giggled.

"Just remembering the looks on their faces... Just priceless." Another one said.

Another one was giggling with them. "Totally dude, seriously, look at this precious loot!"

They all looked at a huge chunk of gold and even some personal belongings.

"We are all here, right?" Another one asked.

"Yes."

One of them grinned. "Hmm...Well since I found out about them, I should keep the whole thing. It's only fair, yeah?"

"No dude. I get to keep it." The other one argued.

"No you greedy pig, it's mine!" Another one yelled.

.....

Someone whispered again. It was Yuri. "So when are we going to...?"

"Not yet. We need to do a sneak attack." Byleth frowned.

"Do you know how we will- Err how we will do it?" Petra asked.

"I think I have an idea." Byleth grinned proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Sylvain asked.

Byleth tried to whisper something to them all, with their eyes taken off the thieves and on her for a short while.

However, Yuri glimpsed back at the thieves for a second and saw something odd...

He sighed. "That would've been a good plan but it's too late for that now."

Byleth looked back at Yuri and saw him slightly pointing at where the thieves were.

She looked at the direction and she really wasn't expecting to see what that was.

.....Dimitri.

Dimitri was walking towards the thieves for some reason.

Felix then noticed. "What the heck?! Is that the boar?"

Sylvain then face palmed when he noticed Dimitri.

"What is His Highness doing here?" Ashe asked.

"I..I don't know?!" Byleth was just as confused.

Dimitri had some words to say to those thieves. "So you are the ones who keep taking away lives for your own selfish gain."

They all looked at him, staring with this odd expression. "Huh?! What do you think you're doing, kid? Who the hell are you?!"

Dimitri scoffed and crossed his arms. "My identity is none of your concern, you disgusting rats."

Felix clenched his fists. "What is this idiot doing?"

Byleth frowned. She didn't like where this was going...

But...she also wondered how Dimitri found out.

"I knew something was wrong. He must have heard you and Gilbert somehow and followed us here." Petra guessed.

Byleth sighed. It seemed like that assumption was pretty accurate sadly. Still though, she wondered how did she not realise that Dimitri was following them...

"So now what do we do?" Ashe asked.

"We don't have a choice now, we have to join him." Byleth frowned and she went to where Dimitri was.

She would use Divine Pulse but she doubted that it would do any good here...

Felix though got to Dimitri first and yelled at him. "Great going, boar. We had them right where we wanted them. Instead you mess it up again!"

Dimitri looked away from Felix. "Hmph. Well, it's your fault for purposely keeping this a secret from me."

"Why do you think we kept it a secret from you?" Felix snapped.

Everyone could see the angry sparks being exchanged between them.

The thieves could barely take it anymore. "Why the hell are you all here anyways? You punks wanna fight?!"

Dimitri looked back at the thieves. "Yes."

They all mockingly laughed at him. It kind of reminded Byleth of that mission in Gautier from the previous moon.

One of them stopped laughing to speak. "Ha! You think you can beat us! Well fine. If you want to die so badly then I will grant your wish!"

They then grabbed their weapons and quickly swung them at Dimitri.

Dimitri dodged quickly and grabbed out his own lance.

"Boar! You nee-" Felix yelled.

"No! Get out of my way! I...I must...I m-must kill them." Dimitri shakily screamed out.

Something about that sentence sounded off.

It sounded like he actually didn't want to do it.

Byleth frowned but she swung her sword at some of the thieves around them.

They were...surprisingly strong.

But clearly not strong enough.

When Felix stabbed one of them, Dimitri yelled at him. "Quit it!"

"Quit what?"

"Stealing my kills! I want to kill them but you're in the way!" Dimitri continued to yell at his friend.

"Hmph. Pathetic. Truly pathetic."

"Call me pathetic but at least I didn't pathetically stea-"

"Dimitri! Be careful!" Byleth yelled.

He looked behind him and quickly dodged the attack.

"You see what happens when you foolishly distract yourself, Boar?" Felix mocked him.

"Shut up!" Dimitri yelled at Felix.

After cutting down a few more, it was over.

Well, they thought so.

Byleth sighed as she put her sword away.

Petra looked down. "We done?"

"Yes. Finally..." Felix huffed.

Byleth then looked at the direction that Ashe was standing in and she caught another thief attacking Ashe out of nowhere.

Byleth had some time to save Ashe from getting hit so she didn't saw anything so she grabbed her sword again and clashed the lance that the thief was going to use to hit Ashe.

"Woah! Professor!" Ashe was shocked and walked back from the fight.

Byleth and the thief had a little crossing sword match.

"Dammit! You dumb children ruin everything!" The thief groaned.

Byleth struggled a bit with this thief, he was pretty strong.

Dimitri though, stabbed the thief using his own lance and killed them.

"Ergggg..."

Byleth was panting a little. She put her sword away.

She then looked at Dimitri, who did not kill them brutally.

Dimitri crossed his arms, waiting for her to scold him or something.

However she did the opposite.

Byleth looked down. "Thank you for helping me out there Dimitri."

Dimitri really wasn't expecting that response.

"...Well I-"

Felix cut him off. "You shouldn't be thanking the boar. He messed up the entire plan!"

Dimitri felt irritated again. "Hmph. Then tell me next time. Quit keeping secrets from me."

Felix did a fake laugh. "Yeah, because you apparently don't keep secrets at all. No, totally not."

Dimitri frowned. It seemed like Felix was incredibly hostile with him after the argument.

...Not that he blamed Felix for it. Who would?

"Please calm down. We should be grateful that it turned out ok in the end." Mercedes tried to reassure them.

"Yeah. I guess." Felix admitted.

"Oh yeah! Dimitri, have you ever had a tea party before?" Mercedes asked.

......

Either Mercedes was the most gutsy person or she was incredibly naive because Dimitri clearly wouldn't care about that type of thing at this point in time.

Dimitri ignored her and started walking back to the monastery.

Mercedes let out a sad sigh but she and the others walked back.

Byleth stood where she was though, lost in thought. _"Dimitri did look more hesitant to kill in this battle than normal."_

.....

She shrugged it off and started heading back with everyone else.

\-----


	81. Tea Party

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place on the 19th of Great Tree Moon. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part, "The Dagger" part, "Tension" part & "Raid" part. Recommended for you to read "The Face Beneath" paralogue part before this one. Takes place a bit before Annette's A Support with Byleth.

\-----

_Byleth didn't really know how to spend her free day._

She just wandered around the monastery, sighing to herself about the battle ahead and was lost in thought.

That was until she accidentally bumped into Annette.

"Bah! Ow..." Annette fell and put her hand over her forehead.

Byleth looked at Annette and apologised. "Sorry Annette, I didn't see where I was going.. Are you ok?"

Mercedes was also with Annette but was unable to lend a hand because she was holding some teacups and a teapot that appeared to have tea in it.

"Erg..Yeah I think so.." Annette sighed, not knowing who it was that had just bumped into her.

Byleth offered her hand but Annette refused. She just stood up on her own, then realised who it was.

"Oh! Professor! Hello!" Annette's frown suddenly turned into a grin.

"Hello Annette and Mercedes. What are you up to today?" Byleth asked.

Mercedes looked excited. "Me and Annie are going to have a tea party! It's the perfect way to feel relaxed."

Byleth didn't seem all that surprised. "Nice. That sounds lovely."

"Professor, could you join us for the tea party?" Mercedes asked.

Annette then looked at Byleth with anticipation. "Oh yeah! That would be so much fun! Having a tea party with my two best friends...relaxing...ohhh I can't wait! Imagine how amazing that could be!"

Annette started to daydream, she didn't even realise she let something slip.

Byleth slightly blushed a bit and looked away. She was smiling but she didn't want them to see. "You consider me...as your best friend, Annette?"

Annette snapped out of the daydream and realised what she said. "Is..is that bad? Oh no... you hate it, don't you? Ahhh! I'm so sorry, I did-"

Byleth cut Annette off. "No Annette...You got the wrong idea..I..."

Annette and Mercedes then noticed Byleth's adorably happy expression from being called a best friend.

"Aw..Professor, did you not know that we consider you our best friend?" Mercedes teased her.

"Well..no I didn't." Byleth admitted.

"Do you mind if we do?"

"Not at all...In fact, it's something... Well I also consider you both to be uh...my best friends." Byleth felt a bit embarrassed saying that, and yet she had no idea why.

Annette quickly hugged Byleth which caught Byleth off guard and made Mercedes chuckle.

"Awwww Professor..." Annette had a big cheesy grin when she hugged Byleth.

It..felt a bit awkward and cheesy but Byleth didn't mind it. After all, it had been a long time since any of three had been this happy...

She was very pleased that they considered her their best friend rather than just their professor. She had no idea why but it made her feel really happy.

Byleth snapped out of those thoughts despite being hugged. "Well..Anyways to answer your question, I'd love to have a tea party with you two. It sounds wonderful."

"Yay!" Annette pulled out of the hug and seemed very happy.

"Thank you Professor!" Mercedes smiled.

Annette then asked Mercedes something. "Hey Mercie, do we have all we need?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yup! I just need to grab the sweets and pick a place to have the tea party."

"Where should we go this time? My room? Your room? Or outside?"

Mercedes looked a bit confused. "Good point Annie...Hey Professor! Can we have the tea party in your room?"

Byleth nodded despite the slightly awkward question. "I don't mind."

"Sweet! Well, let's prepare for the tea party!" Annette said excitedly.

Byleth and Mercedes nodded happily.

\-----

Byleth certainly enjoyed spending her time like this with these two.

She had never done anything like this before and it felt really lovely and heartwarming.

Annette started up another conversation as she was eating the amazing sweets Mercedes baked. "Hey Professor! How good are you at baking sweets?"

Byleth thought a bit before she answered. "Well, I'm probably better at cooking other things and I'm not the best cook out there. Mercedes undoubtedly is better than me. In fact, I think she is one of the best when it comes to cooking."

Mercedes smiled. "Oh professor, thank you. That's very kind of you."

"Well, she's not wrong you know! You're really good at it. Ugh, I'm so jealous Mercie, I wish I was as good at baking treats." Annette agreed with Byleth.

"Hey now Annie, don't say that! I'm sure you will eventually become better at baking treats than me! Besides Dedue, Yuri, Manuela & Ashe are each fantastic at cooking." Mercedes added.

"Well I won't deny that those four are great at it too but you're just amazing!"

"Annie...You flatter me... Thank you!"

Byleth remembered another person who used to be an amazing cook too.

It broke her heart, remembering that old friend that she promised she'd stick with...

Byleth shook her head, removing the thoughts of Bernadetta and decided to change the subject. "I hope you don't mind me asking Mercedes, but what are your favourite hobbies?"

Mercedes looked up at Byleth a bit, clearly not expecting that question.

"Well other than baking, I love sewing." Mercedes smiled.

"Didn't you teach Dimitri how to sew?" Byleth asked curiously.

Mercedes nodded. "Kind of."

"Did he...break anything?" Byleth couldn't resist asking.

"Oh yes. He did. He really did." Mercedes laughed a bit now that she remembered it better.

Byleth chuckled a bit while Annette was giggling.

"I'm not surprised at all." Byleth continued to chuckle.

"Well, is there anything else Mercie?" Annette asked.

Mercedes thought again. "Hmm..Oh this might surprise you but I love drawing!"

"Wow! Really?" Byleth didn't expect that.

"Yes! And uh...well could I use you as a model sometime for a drawing? You'd be perfect."

Byleth was surprised but she nodded. "Sure. I don't mind at all."

"Thank you! And..I can't think of anything else at the moment that isn't baking or helping people. What about you Annie?"

Annette blushed a bit. "Hmm... Well I like singing! I also...like playing the harp instrument."

"You're an excellent singer Annette. I've heard you sing during our choir practices. Though I didn't know you played the harp." Mercedes added.

Annette nodded. "Thank you Mercie and yes, I do play the harp but I'm pretty bad at it."

Mercedes and Annette chuckled which made Byleth smile.

Then she realised something..

That...something like this probably won't happen often.

Byleth sighed sadly which caught both Annette and Mercedes' attention.

"Professor? Is there something wrong?"

Byleth shook her head. "It's nothing. I just wish I could have more tea parties like this..."

"Well, you don't have to do it with just us two you know! Everyone here in the army loves tea parties! And...well maybe you should ask Dimitri too whenever it's the right time." Mercedes suggested.

Byleth didn't know how to respond. "That's not really the main problem...I guess. Well, can I join you both for tea parties more often?"

"Of course!" Annette nodded.

"Thanks." Byleth smiled widely.

She was surprised at how much she enjoyed this.

_She would love to do tea parties with Annette and Mercedes more...and maybe even with others..._

_She even wished that she could have a tea party with Dimitri sometime..._

_....._

_Though she isn't sure if that's possible at this rate._

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Dimitri is absent once again. Sorry about that. Well, I know there was the option to have tea parties in pre timeskip but it feels more natural in post timeskip in my opinion. There will be more tea parties between characters including..well you guys can guess lol. Anyways that part about Mercedes liking drawing, I did not make up. She actually mentions that she draws and wants Byleth as her model. It's kind of cute lol. Annette though, yeah I did make up that harp thing but I wanted to add that as part of Annette's character for some reason bahaha.
> 
> Anyways love you all and I hope you enjoyed this part even if it isn't very...good lol.


	82. The Ashen Demon

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part, "The Dagger" part, "Tension" part, "Raid" part & "Tea Party" part. Takes place on the 22nd of Great Tree Moon. References "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part.

\-----

_It was a bit late at night so Dimitri decided to leave the Cathedral to train_

He chooses to leave by going from the Cathedral to the Reception Hall then the direction that leads to the quarters, sauna and training grounds.

When he walked in, he didn't realise there were some people there already.

Dimitri didn't really know who they were. It seemed like they were just some Kingdom soldiers from Rodrigue.

Well three of them to be exact.

They were talking a lot but they didn't see him since they had their backs turned to where Dimitri was walking from.

All three of the soldiers seemed very irritated. One of them spoke and brought it up. "Grrr..Lord Rodrigue is insane! Why should we help Prince Dimitri? He knows that we'll all be dead at this rate."

"You know how he's like, he treats that Prince like he's his son."

"But this is so stupid! The prince is insane!"

Dimitri sighed. He knew they were correct about it.

He shrugged it off and started walking back to the Cathedral to use the longer way. He thought to himself. _"How annoying..."_

He then turned around and took a few steps

"Eh I am more concerned about that ** _foolish commander_** than about the prince."

Dimitri stopped walking and slightly turned his head.

He was confused and he thought to himself. _"What?"_

"You mean Professor Byleth?" One of them asked.

"Obviously! Well, I prefer to refer to her as that old name she used to have. It fits her incompetence..."

Dimitri then walked a bit towards them and hid. He tried to understand what they were saying.

The soldiers kept talking. "Oh yeah, she was the Ashen Demon wasn't she?"

One of them nodded. "Yes. I don't trust her one bit. She's a pretty awful commander too."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Rodrigue is kind of an idiot for putting his trust into the Ashen Demon. All she does is fish."

"Haha yeah that is true."

They all laughed. It made Dimitri feel sick.

He couldn't believe that they were saying this about Byleth.

And calling her that name...Dimitri's never once heard it before.

Suddenly, Hilda walks in the reception hall from a different direction but the soldiers don't see her. She walked past them and then she saw Dimitri eavesdropping on the soldiers' conversation.

She really wasn't expecting that.

She goes to where Dimitri is and quietly confronts him. "Hey Dimitri! Why are you eavesdropping?"

"Shhhh."

"Huh? ...?" Hilda decided to hide and listen too.

She didn't know why she did it but she did.

One of the soldiers realised something and pointed it out. "Seriously though, when you think about it more seriously, Lord Rodrigue is seriously relying on an ashen demon to prevent us from dying?!"

All three stopped laughing and frowned. ".....Well what can we do now? We can't just let Lord Rodrigue allow that...that monster of a commander get us killed in battle."

Hilda realised who they were referring to and was horrified.

The soldiers continued to badmouth her. "Well what can we do at this rate? Tell him that the commander is a monster?"

"Well it isn't hard to believe. Pretty sure everyone knows that she is a monster except him. She probably forced them against their will to be around her at all."

Hilda poked her tongue out in disgust. "What the heck? Why in the world are they saying such ridiculous things about the Professor? Not only is it untrue and rude but also incredibly out of place?"

Dimitri agreed with Hilda. This was rather random. He couldn't even tell what they're trying to say. All they seemed to be doing was badmouthing Byleth for no reason other than the fact that she was known as the "Ashen Demon" one time.

"She seems to have always hated being called the Ashen Demon, I overheard her say something to someone else that the name makes her feel _'less than human'_ or some dumb crap like that. What a joke." One soldier snorted in a way to mock Byleth.

"That's probably because she actually is a demon. Wouldn't surprise anyone unless they're naive. She really is the scum of Fodlan, I hope people realise how ridiculous it is to trust someone who is so...despicable." Another one said.

Dimitri and Hilda felt even more angry by this interaction.

Another soldier bit his lip and seemed more concerned. He finally spoke up his concerns. "Do you think the Ashen Demon is actually...plotting something? Maybe she worked with the people of Duscur to cause the tragedy nine years ago and then somehow tricked the prince into thinking that Edelgard did it instead..."

Dimitri flinched at the accusation.

"Woah...That's a really good point! No wonder the prince is-"

Dimitri walked out from where he was hiding, surprising Hilda and he stomped pretty loud.

One of the soldiers noticed, turned around and cut off their sentence. When he realised that Dimitri heard that, he looked absolutely horrified.

The other two are confused.

The scared soldier bowed. "Y-y-your Hi-highness!"

The other two turned around and then seemed just as scared.

"You fools actually think that way and you call yourselves soldiers? How pathetic. Quit making wild accusations and saying revolting things about her."

"R-right we ap..apologise...t-tremendously... S-s-sorry!" They all ran away cowardly right after they apologised.

Dimitri crossed his arms, still completely disgusted from what he just heard. "Hmph how disgusting. Only an imbecile would think and say such repulsive things."

.....

"Wow Dimitri! Way to go!" Hilda came out of the hiding spot and clapped her hands.

Dimitri turned around quickly. It seemed like he completely forgot that Hilda was here.

"I knew that you cared about the Professor! There was no way what you said about her last moon was true and that just confirmed it." Hilda proudly smiled at him.

Dimitri looked away and then walked away, leaving Hilda there.

Hilda thought to herself. _"I knew it...He didn't deny it either..."_

\-----


	83. Yellow Maiden

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after the "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part, "The Dagger" part, "Tension" part, "Raid" part, "Tea Party" part & "The Ashen Demon" part. Takes place on the 25th of Great Tree Moon.

\-----

_Dimitri was in the Cathedral in front of the broken pieces...again._

It wasn't anything new at all to... well anyone.

Still, Byleth did go to the Cathedral and tried to talk to him that day.

"Dimitri?"

He flinched slightly when he realised she was there. He turned around to face her. "Yes?"

"...Are you doing ok?"

Dimitri crossed his arms. "I've been more or less dead."

Byleth frowned at that response.

Dimitri uncrossed his arms and spoke again. "What did you want anyways?"

"..I came to check on you again. You seem a bit-"

Dimitri interrupted her again. "Checking on me is a waste of time. There is nothing left within me for you to care about." 

Byleth shook her head. "That isn't true, stop saying that."

"Yes it is! You're just wasting your time with me!" Dimitri groaned.

"Can you like, for once, stop repeating those-"

"Just leave me alone please." Dimitri sighed and looked away from her.

Byleth gave him a disappointed look and did as he said. This conversation was going nowhere just like most of the other times. It would be basically Deja Vu at this point...

Part of her wishes she didn't leave him there.

But she shrugged those wishes off and she still left the Cathedral.

However when she was at the entrance of the Cathedral, there was suddenly a voice speaking from behind her. "Hello!"

Byleth was slightly startled but got over it. She turned around to see that there was a child behind her.

..It was the same child that she, Rodrigue and Dimitri met at the great bridge of Myriddin..again.

Byleth realised that the child was somehow behind her as she was leaving the Cathedral which would mean that the child was in the Cathedral too.

Byleth frowned. "Hello...Er..Sorry but did you hear that conversation between me and Dimitri?"

The child's smile fell. She looked a bit guilty. "Uh..sorry yes."

Byleth sighed. "Maybe you shouldn't have seen that..."

"I'm sorry...but can I ask you something?"

Byleth tilted her head a bit. "Um sure?"

"Well...I.. I was wondering why you are fighting in this army?"

Byleth blinked. "Huh?"

Byleth bit her lip. She wasn't sure what question she was expecting to hear but that certainly wasn't one she'd think would be asked.

The child spoke again to clarify what she meant again. "Ok..well. I mean...Why do you choose to fight here? You don't seem to care much about the Church or anything like that?"

Byleth frowned again. "Well...That's um...because that's what I believe in - fighting alongside those who matter to me and doing what I believe is the right thing to do. That's what I want to do. I want to fight with this army and-"

The child cut her off before she could even talk about Rhea and her various other reasons. "But what if you die?"

"Then I die. I died and lived for what I believed in. And I'm ok with that." Byleth nodded.

The child sighed. "Well...I wish you luck then in your future path I guess..."

Byleth tilted her head in confusion. "Thank you...?"

The child walked away with a disappointed frown on her face.

Byleth kind of noticed it. She thought to herself a bit. _"Did she expect a different answer or something? And why did I tell her so much...?"_

She sighed. There wasn't really much she could do about it anymore...

\-----


	84. In The Dark

\-----

Takes place after chapter sixteen and takes place before chapter seventeen. Takes place after "Reasons..." part, "A Promised Trip" part, "Peculiar" part, "The Dagger" part, "Tension" part, "Raid" part, "Tea Party", "The Ashen Demon" part & "Yellow Maiden" part. Takes place at night.

\-----

_"Professor, could you please go and get my shield, I left it up on the second floor."_

Alois asking this question really late in the night, almost right before Byleth was about to go to her room for the day and him asking when she right near her quarters, wasn't surprising.

Just infuriating...

"Alois, why can't you go up there?"

"erm..Well I..." Alois seemed fidgety.

"...Ghosts are the reason aren't they?" Byleth facepalmed when she guessed.

"W-what me? N-no of course not I...yes." Alois shivered.

Byleth sighed but she nodded.

"I'll get it but do you have a candle I could use?"

"A candle? Why would you need a candle?"

"To see. I won't be able to see your armour in the dark room without a light." Byleth rolled her eyes.

"Oh. Oh yes I see now. Uh...No. But...Oh hey Ashe!" Alois saw Ashe walking by to his room which was very close to Byleth's room.

Ashe got frightened quickly. "AHHH A GHOST!"

This shout scared Alois too. "W-what? Where? W-where is it? Ahh please tell me..."

Byleth sighed. "There's no ghost, it's just us Ashe."

He turned around and he sighed in relief. "Professor, don't scare me like that."

"That was Alois who shouted, not me."

"A-anyways that's not the point. Ashe, do you have a candle?" Alois changed the subject.

"Oh uh yes I do. Why is that?" Ashe asked.

"I'm going up to the second floor to get Alois's shield because he left it there. I'll need a candle. Can I please borrow yours?"

"C-certainly but the second floor? Be careful there!"

Byleth nodded. She knew that Ashe was somehow aware of that place being "haunted" even though it wasn't. "I will be. No _spooky_ ghosts will haunt me."

"Ah! Professor!" Ashe shivered.

"I'm just kidding. Seriously, I'll be fine." Byleth reassured.

"Ok... Well, I'll be waiting here for you!" Alois exclaimed.

"Sure."

Ashe runs in his room and lights up his candle.

He carefully carries it and gives it to Byleth.

She walks around the monastery until she finds the stairs to the second floor.

There surprisingly weren't that many people around at the moment.

When she went up there, she looked for Alois's shield.

It was laying around in her father's room.

She sadly sighed despite being relieved.

When she was heading out of the room and back down stairs, she thought she heard something from the third floor.

**_"...KI.....L.......D......S.....T....RO.....SK....U....."_ **

She heard some loud mumbling of some sort which was weird because there wasn't anyone up on this floor.

Or at least that's what she thought.

**_"...A.....EN........E...........E......D...E....L......A.....R......"_ **

Byleth couldn't tell what this voice was saying.

She couldn't see where it came from either.

She knew it wasn't her imagination though because this voice sounded too real...

In fact kind of familiar.

She left Alois's shield on the ground near the stairs and then she went up towards the stairs that lead to the third floor because that was where she heard the loud mumblings from.

She decided to be quiet when walking up there.

**_"...K...ILL.......A.L......OF.....TH....M...."_ **

The mumblings were getting louder the more stairs she went up.

She was going to call out if someone was there but...

She decided not too.

**_"....I'LL....A.V..E......G...E....."_ **

The mumblings were louder and clearer.

She finally reached the top of the stairs and she heard it way more properly but she couldn't see where it was coming from.

So she walked at the straight path which was where the voice must be coming from.

**_"I'll...avenge......you....I swear so...."_ **

Byleth tried very hard to not make any loud footsteps.

She finally reached where the balcony is and turned her head to there.

Then she felt sad when she saw who was talking.

Of course she did have a feeling it was him but she hated that her gut feeling was correct...

The owner of the voice was standing at the balcony, with his head facing up at the night sky. He looked desperate...

The owner of this voice was none other than Dimitri.

Byleth would say something but he spoke first. He still hadn't noticed her yet due to being caught up in something else.

Dimitri was speaking out loud to the demonic inner voices."...Father, Stepmother, Glenn...I'm...sorry just ple-"

His father's demonic ghost interrupted him and spoke to him. Only Dimitri could hear these ghosts' voices. **_"You're the worst son...Why is it so difficult for you to get that witch's head?!"_**

Dimitri struggled to respond. "I..I'm sorry..I...I promise I'll bring you her head...Just plea-"

Glenn's demonic ghost had his arms crossed. **_"Just please what? You want us to keep suffering? I was a dumb fool to sacrifice myself to save a worthless loser like you! I could be living an amazing life but no, you took that away from me and you won't even have the decency to avenge me! DON'T YOU?"_**

"I swear Glenn, It's not like that! I'm sorry. I'm trying my hardest! I promise you I will get her head so please..."

 ** _"THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU GOTTEN HER HEAD YET?!"_** Glenn roared.

"I..I.." Dimitri felt like crying.

Byleth was horrified. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on but she understood something...

Dimitri could hear something that she can't hear and whatever it is he is hearing, it's causing him to suffer.

Byleth gulped. She really wanted to intervene but she knew she couldn't at the moment.

But she wished she didn't leave him alone that other day. She shouldn't have done that.

Dimitri spoke again. "I'll get her head...so please...let me-"

 ** _"LET YOU WHAT?"_** Glenn's ghost confronted him.

Dimitri was crying. "I..I don't know...I..please..I....I...I..."

Byleth's heart shattered at watching him suffer like that.

Dimitri sobbed. **_"I promise you! I am under your control! I will allow you to control my actions! I will avenge you all then I will...join you in death...so please! Please just give me time....I beg you...please..."_**

Byleth couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Dimitri sobbed to himself and spoke out loud, hoping the ghosts won't hear him. _"I hate this...I...I can't take this anymore..I...Please..I....I hate living in the darkness like this...I...hate it so much......I...I...."_

He fell down to the ground, sobbing.

Byleth understands now...Dimitri is hearing the voices of the dead and forcing himself to suffer under their control.

Byleth knew she couldn't stand around and watch anymore. **She's heard enough.**

Unfortunately for Dimitri, his ghosts did hear him. They chanted words in his ears and in his head.

**_" S U F F E R "_ **

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" M O N S T -_ **

"Dimitri!" Byleth called out to him, cutting off the voices in his head.

He slightly flinched when he heard her voice.

He felt...happy but at the same time...

**He was scared of how the ghosts would respond to this...**

Byleth walked closer while still holding the candle carefully. "Dimitri! Please stop letting this happen to yourself."

As much as Dimitri wanted to listen to her, he knew that he couldn't. Dimitri sighed. "Please go away."

"No I won't go away! You need to stop forcing yourself to suffer like this! Enough already."

"You don't understand...why should you care for a beast like me who doesn't have a beating heart...?" Dimitri unintentionally said a bit more aggressively.

Byleth blurted something out in response. "If anyone here is actually a heartless beast, it's me not you!"

Dimitri clenched his fists at her saying something like that about herself. "How the hell are you a heartless beast?"

 **"I don't have a heartbeat that's how!"** Byleth blurted out.

She put her other hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe she just said that.

Dimitri sighed in disbelief. "Stop being irrational and using untrue metaphors. You should stay away from me."

Byleth was slightly relieved that he didn't believe her but she still spoke. "I will not! I will not stand by and let you suffer!"

"Tsk. You're just wasting your time." Dimitri challenged.

"Dimitri, I heard it all. You're being haunted by the voices of the dead aren't you? You're forcing yourself to suffer even though you don't want to! I heard it all! I know that's what's going on! You nee-"

"Stop. You shouldn't eavesdrop on me. I don't know why you would care for me at this point."

"But Dimitri-"

She was cut off by Dimitri. "Please just go away."

She shook her head and continued to speak. "No I won't. I can't let you suffer like this. What kind of friend would I be if I stood by and let you suffer? I shouldn't have left you behind in the cathedral that day."

He stood up and walked towards her. "Let me suffer! I'm a beast! I deserve this!"

"You're not a beast Dimitri!" Byleth snapped.

"I am."

He then showed his hands to her. "You see these hands have taken many lives, they have been stained by the colour of roses many times, in the most gruesome way possible. What makes you think that someone like me doesn't deserve to suffer?"

Byleth stared at them and gently carried his hand. His hands were freezing cold and hard like a rock.

Yet Byleth knows that these hands belong to someone who isn't a beast but a human being with a kind heart that is forcing himself to suffer.

Dimitri gently put her hands off his and walked in the other direction. He had an even softer tone this time. "Just...Leave me alone."

"Where are you going?" Byleth asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" Byleth snapped again.

"Hmph. Well, I'm going to sleep for the day if you really must know."

He actually was telling the truth but he was trying so hard to not let himself believe her words...

He cannot allow himself to truly live ever again...

He cannot let someone like himself escape the darkness...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anywho, thanks for reading this part. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Now this is the last part of this month which means...Gronder Field arc is next! Ahhh...gosh I can't believe it yikes. I hope you all are excited for it! Well I suppose some of you won't be because...well I don't need to say it do I? Well anyways it may be a retell with the game's original dialogue but I will add some new scenes to it and change the Claude interaction. I won't say what they are. I'll just let you see...
> 
> Well Anyways I hope you enjoyed this part! Stay tuned for the Gronder Field arc even though it's a bit long oops..


	85. The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 1/5: "The Grand Deceased"

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter sixteen and only just before chapter seventeen. Part/arc is a retell of Chapter 17. This entire arc series is much more impactful if these following parts are read first, "The Grand Feast" part, "Bernadetta's Birthday and Smiles" part, "An Unfaded Light" part, "Reasons..." part, "In The Dark" part, "The Dagger" part, "What's the Matter Lion?" part, "The Argument in the Lions' Den" part, "Broken Bridges & Bonds" part, "Peculiar" part, "Tension" part & "Yellow Maiden" part. This arc will stick with the original dialogue but will have new scenes that weren't in the original game.

\-----

_Today was the day..._

It was the day to march from the Bridge to Gronder Field and destroy Edelgard's army.

It was scary, Byleth had no idea what was going to happen nor what waited for her there. Not to mention, everyone in the Kingdom Army will be fighting in this battle.

Byleth's confidence was low before but it's even worse after finding out the Alliance doesn't have any interest in joining forces.

While she doesn't believe Claude would do such a horrible thing to a messenger to say he has no interest in joining forces, she still has to might have them as her enemy if he was truly behind it which means she may have to...

The thought made her shiver.

While marching to Gronder Field though and were very close to reaching there, Hilda, Raphael & Marianne were in complete shock about the Alliance's answer. Hilda especially.

"I swear I'm going to give Claude a huge earful the next time I see him if he actually did that!" Hilda angrily crossed her arms.

"You should kill him and his little army instead. Maybe he'll understand the message." Dimitri scoffed.

"No Dimitri, we still don't have proof that he did that! We should talk to Claude first to see if that was his actual intention....." Byleth said.

Dimitri said nothing.

Dorothea sighed. "Listen, putting that aside for now, does anyone know what's going to happen?"

"At this rate, we don't really have the time to think about that, we just need to find the Imperial Army..." Sylvain sighed heavily.

Byleth's attention was on Rodrigue and Gilbert. Gilbert seemed furious with Rodrigue over something but she doesn't understand why.

Before she could ask though, some of the reinforcements and soldiers screamed out of shock and ran.

She was confused and looked at the sky.

There were fire spells being casted on them.

"EVERYONE MOVE OUT THE WAY RIGHT NOW!" Rodrigue ordered.

Byleth and many others moved out of the way to get out of the attack.

Byleth, her friends and some of the soldiers thankfully moved out the attack in time.

Some soldiers sadly weren't as fortunate.

However, it seemed like they weren't the only ones being attacked by the Imperial Army that Edelgard was leading.

Byleth, Seteth, Alois, Hilda, Marianne, Ashe, Mercedes, Petra, Dorothea, Caspar, Raphael & a few other soldiers were separated from everyone else by being in more in the other part of the area.

She could see a yellow, gold army.

She then realised that the Imperial Army and her own weren't alone.

Claude and the Alliance were here too.

And some of her former friends such as Lysithea and Ignatz were in the army with Claude.

Byleth couldn't help but realise how much everyone has grown...

She gulped when she saw it but she also looked worried when she realised that Dimitri was not far from where the Imperial Army was fighting from and was separated from her.

He didn't look like he was going to show any mercy to anyone.

**"Know that I will tear your heads from your shoulders. The dead must have their tribute."**

That statement gave everyone around him goosebumps.

Claude looked at the corpses of his soldiers that were alive not too long ago. He sighed heavily. **"As big class reunions go... this one's gotta be the worst in history."**

No one would disagree with him on that statement. This truly will be the worst in history.

The fire around her was reminding her of that dream she once had. Back in Pegasus Moon when she woke up on the ground and...

Byleth sighed and thought to herself. _"Sothis...Help me..."_

Edelgard walked a bit forward from her position. "Years ago, we fought here as classmates."

But she then tilted her head down, in guilt and heartbreak. **"But not today."**

The soldiers behind Edelgard grabbed out their weapons and were prepared to fight.

Byleth grabbed out her sword, prepared to...take anyone down.

Dimitri started to tilt his head up, saying words that he thinks the dead have been wanting to say for years...

**_"Kill every last one of them!"_ **

He smirked and grabbed out the lance that was entrusted to him.

He and the soldiers charged at anyone who tried to get in his way.

Claude didn't need words to give the order to his troops. He and everyone started to charge up anything in their way as well despite their lack of interest in interfering with the Kingdom Army.

Edelgard tilted her head up. "And so we fight on."

All of her remaining troops around her charged up ahead, making her the only leader to stay behind.

Dimitri screamed at her despite being so far away and Rodrigue and a few others trying to hold him back. "You have finally appeared, Edelgard... Now, you are mine!"

Claude bit his lip. "The Kingdom army doesn't look too interested in joining forces with us. Let's take a moment to see how this all unfolds..."

Edelgard noticed the weird hostility between the two and was pleased. "It would not be advantageous to take on both at once. We must stop the Kingdom and the Alliance from joining forces. I will create such chaotic warfare that they won't be able to tell who is friend and who is foe."

Byleth flinched and she saw something surrounding her that felt so familiar..

Byleth saw the flames everywhere...

It felt so hot...it felt burning hot...

Just like that nightmare she had.....

She was panting and trembling. She was terrified and wanted to cry.

So many people are going to die and meaninglessly too...

She didn't want her worst nightmare to come to life...

Why...?

"C-come on Professor...You know what we have to do..." Ashe was trembling and was holding back his tears.

Byleth nodded and ran up ahead.

She noticed that Rodrigue was with Dimitri and so were a few others. She decided she was going to eliminate some Imperial Soldiers before she and the others joined them.

**Little did anyone know that Dimitri, Rodrigue and some others had sent out many other soldiers to kill everyone in the Alliance army...Dimitri didn't care what was happening at this point. They were more likely enemies then not...**

However just as Byleth was going to charge up at the soldiers ahead, out of nowhere many arrows struck Raphael and got him killed.

"R-raphael! Wha..what?!" Marianne gasped.

Dorothea already wanted to cry... "W-where... How...?"

Byleth then looked ahead to see that there was a ballista who had shot arrows at Raphael with their bow.

She had no idea who it was though.

She decided to use divine pulse, there was absolutely no way is she going to let Raphael die here.

Then marks her first Divine Pulse use, making it around nine more times she can use it again on this day.

She then protected Raphael from the bow shot using her sword before it could hit him.

"Professor! Thank you! But how did you...?" Raphael was shocked but grateful.

"There is a ballista over there! I need some of you guys' help to take them down first before we go any forward." Byleth said.

"Ok! We will do our best!" Petra nodded.

Most of Byleth's friends that got separated along with her agreed to help too.

However Byleth asked Alois to go to Dimitri and help give him a hand.

Alois agreed. "Of course. Please be careful out here!"

Byleth nodded and with that Alois went to where Dimitri was.

Dimitri was still being held back by Rodrigue so they could be careful.

Byleth sighed in relief. _"Thank goddess for Rodrigue..."_

She then got slightly hit on the cheek by the arrow as she got closer to the ballista.

"Stay back! Stay back or I'll shoot!" The ballista's spoke. It belonged to a girl who was clearly terrified.

She sounded awfully familiar...

Byleth, Dorothea, Ashe & Petra started to shake when they realised who it might be...

Hilda, Mercedes & Seteth killed all of the soldiers surrounding the barista.

Byleth then saw the ballista.

The ballista was a bit tall, she had purple hair that was a bit longer than it used to be. She was trembling as she was holding her bow and she was also carrying something that looked familiar with her but refused to let it out of her grasp.

Byleth's eyes widened when she saw who the ballista was.

...Bernadetta...

Dorothea then tried so hard to hold back sobbing when she saw her former friend. First she had to kill Ferdinand and now... Bernadetta.

"Professor? Is that you?" Bernadetta was shocked.

Byleth didn't answer. She was too shaken up to answer and was shocked.

 _"No...This can't be happening...Bernadetta why are you here? Why...just why......."_ Byleth wiped away some tears that were about to leave her eyes as she thought to herself.

Marianne noticed and so she went to Byleth's side immediately.

"Professor..." Marianne felt so horrible for Byleth. She knew how close she was to Bernadetta...

Mercedes noticed too and her heart shattered...

Petra was speechless and both Yuri & Annette who were with Dimitri, Rodrigue and the others, sadly glimpsed slightly to see that.

"And P-petra? D-dorothea you too...? You're here...as well...? And...Caspar...?" Bernadetta was scared.

"Bernadetta..Listen..We don't want to fight you!" Caspar exclaimed.

No one has seen Caspar like this before.

Bernadetta sighed sadly but she looked up at them all. "You're with the enemy. That means I...I'll have to kill you."

Byleth's heart broke. "No...you don't! It doesn't need to be this way Bernadetta!"

"Then run away!" She yelled.

Dorothea closed her eyes. "Bern...Why..."

"We must hunt her down. We..we don't have a choice!" Petra demanded despite not wanting to hurt Bernadetta either.

Seteth sighed and put his hand on Byleth's shoulder. "I'm sorry but...I don't think we can reason with her Professor. We have no choice but to-"

She angrily cut him off. "No we don't need to do that! She's our friend! I won't let her die here! We need to get her out of this!"

"But how?! How do you expect us to do that when she is being unreasonable?!" Ashe snapped out of misery and shock.

"She isn't unreasonable...She won't-"

Hilda shrieked in pain when she was cut down by an alliance soldier, mistaking her for an Imperial Soldier.

Byleth's attention quickly shifted. She refused to let Hilda die here too.

So she used Divine Pulse for the second time.

To go back to just before Ashe snapped.

"But how?! How do you expect us to do that when-"

Byleth cut off Ashe when he was going to repeat that same sentence from before by protecting Hilda from that sudden attack from the Alliance Soldier.

She quickly killed the Alliance Soldier.

Another Alliance soldier noticed that Byleth killed an alliance soldier and immediately went to Claude.

Byleth didn't even realise it was an Alliance soldier and neither did anyone else in her army.

She still raised her voice at Bernadetta. "Bernadetta! Leave immediately! I won't let you die here! I can't kill you!"

"T-then why are you here Professor? I-its war!" Bernadetta looked like she was holding back from crying too.

Bernadetta then shot an arrow at Byleth but missed.

"Please Bernadetta...I can't-"

She shook her head. "No. G-go away!"

"Professor...There's n-no other choice...I don't think we can save her..." Dorothea softly said.

Byleth stared at Dorothea to see a look in her eyes. A look that shows she had given up on saving Bernadetta.

"It's hard I know but...we have no other choice. After all, we can't save everyone..." Caspar sighed.

Then she looked at everyone else too. They all had that same look in their eyes. They've all given up on Bernadetta

.....But

Byleth didn't want to give up. She wanted to at least try again...

But before she could say anything, Seteth then quickly went over to Bernadetta and tried to unintentionally brutally cut her down with his axe.

Bernadetta shrieked in pain and dropped something.

Byleth panicked and used divine pulse for the third time.

She decided to try and convince Bernadetta one more time.

She didn't want to fail her like she did with Lorenz and Ferdinand but it seemed like that might happen again.

She rewinded back to when Caspar sighed and said what he said.

"It's hard I know but...we have no other choice. After all, we can't save everyone..." Caspar sighed.

Byleth then said something out of the blue. "Seteth. Do not do anything."

Seteth was caught off guard by that. "How did you- Did you use that again?"

Byleth sighed and knew that he was referring to Divine Pulse. "Yes."

Seteth groaned at Byleth's incompetence but still believed in her. "...Just please be careful."

He had given up on Bernadetta too but Byleth clearly has no intention in doing so.

Byleth called out to her friend. "Bernadetta...Please reconsider your actions...I consider you not only as my student but as my friend too."

Bernadetta looked down and sighed. "I'm glad you consider me as such Professor..Really..I do and honestly you were one of the only people I was comfortable being around however, if you're with the enemy then I must kill you! I will not hold back in killing anyone no matter who it is! I won't be mad if you kill me so please...stop trying to convince me!"

.....

Byleth sighed in defeat.

Now she really didn't have a choice. If this is what Bernadetta wanted then Byleth couldn't prevent it.

"Professor?" Marianne checked on her.

Byleth spoke softly, trying not to cry. "...You all were right. I can't save her..."

Dorothea sighed. "Are you going to take her down?"

Byleth slowly nodded.

She walked towards Bernadetta and got her weapon ready. "I'm sorry Bernadetta...Bernie."

"I-it's fine." Bernadetta said softly. She knew she wasn't going to last very long in this war anyways so perhaps this might be a good end. Though she would rather die at home then at this grassy field...

Bernadetta knows that she doesn't stand a chance against Byleth but didn't hesitate.

Dorothea used a spell to weaken Bernadetta and Petra helped Byleth stab their former friend.

She shrieked in pain as they stabbed her and as they pulled their weapons out.

Bernadetta dropped something that was in her grasp earlier which Dorothea noticed. Dorothea picked it up and took it with her.

Bernadetta was on the ground, almost dead along with some other corpses around her.

There was blood on her stomach and she was panting due to the amount of blood loss.

Byleth decided to draw the final blow so Bernadetta's death was quick instead of slow and painful.

Bernadetta mumbled to herself. "Wish I could've at least died at home...not in this big, stupid field..."

With those words, Bernadetta finally took her last breath and her life slipped away from her body.

Byleth pulled out her sword from Bernadetta's corpse. It was covered in blood from someone she considered a friend.

Byleth sighed sadly as she stared at the rose coloured stains on her sword.

She wanted to puke...

She then saw that her hands were also stained with the same rose colour.

Edelgard saw Bernadetta's death happen. She seemed sad but not that sad. "Bernadetta, thank you. I'll make sure your life was not lost in vain."

Dorothea sighed as she looked away from Bernadetta's body. "It's win..or die."

Before anyone could do anything, some Alliance reinforcements suddenly arrived and they wanted to target Byleth and her army.

But...why?

She then took a glimpse at some of the corpses and realised she killed one of the Alliance soldiers by accident.

She was angry at herself but at the same time how else could she protect Hilda?

She couldn't use Divine pulse again after that whole thing that just happened.

Byleth bit her lip. She then took a glimpse at Dimitri and them all.

It seemed like she had to wait a bit longer to join them.

However suddenly, someone who was mounted on a horse charged towards her with their lance.

Byleth quickly defended herself and then looked up to see who it was.

Leonie...

"Wha? What are you doing here Leonie?" Hilda wasn't happy.

"Why do you think Hilda? It's war!" Leonie rolled her eyes.

Leonie looked so different to what she used to look like.

She had grown up so much. Byleth was proud..and if he were alive, Byleth's father would be proud too...

"Leonie! Why...We shouldn't be fighting?! The Empire is the main army! And I don't want to..." Byleth sighed.

Leonie shook her head and stood her ground. After all, Byleth did chose to fight the Alliance and Dimitri and a few others apparently made a type of order... "I can't hold back just because I know you. Sorry, but that's war."

"But there is no reason to fight!" Byleth argued.

"Professor, you do realise that the heartless prince and some of the others in your own army sent out the order to kill the alliance soldiers here?!" Leonie was getting impatient.

Byleth was confused. "What?"

"Since you were separated from him, he decided to get half the soldiers he had with him to kill me, Claude and all of us, so you all started this fight not me..."

Byleth was speechless. How did she not notice?

"No Leonie, we-"

She was cut off by Leonie swinging her lance at Byleth but missed since she dodged.

"I'm sorry but I don't care what you want. No one in these armies would give a damn!" Leonie spat out.

Byleth trembled but she knew Leonie was right about that.

Leonie then went to hit Byleth again but Marianne shielded Byleth using her body without hesitation.

She shrieked in pain as Byleth had a shocked expression when seeing her friend die right in front of her. Leonie wasn't too happy to see her former classmate shriek in pain like that either...

Byleth used divine pulse again for the fourth time. Almost halfway there...

She used it until Leonie was about to stab Byleth again. Marianne was prepared to shield her but Byleth used her sword to defend herself from the attack.

"Please Leonie..I..." Byleth begged.

"Stop it. Fight me." Leonie challenged.

It was no use...Byleth's efforts were useless here. The only way she could undo this if she goes back to the beginning but she isn't sure about doing that...

Dorothea then used her magic spell to burn Leonie alive and in a painful way.

Byleth used divine pulse for the fifth time which only let her be able to use it five times.

It took a toll on her body but she still tried to stand strong.

"Looks like we have no choice again Professor..." Hilda sighed.

Byleth sadly nodded.

Byleth and Hilda grabbed their weapons and swung them at Leonie.

Leonie screamed out in pain and fell off her horse with it running away.

There was blood everywhere...It was sickening to the core.

Leonie could barely speak. She was almost dead. "S-so, this is it. I did what I could, Captain Jeralt."

She closed her eyes and like Bernadetta, let go of everything to finally fall into an eternal sleep...

Claude was distressed at the sight of Leonie dying.. "Leonie fell? Did I underestimate the enemy?"

Byleth sighed at the fact that she killed her two friends that she was supposed to protect and save.

The professor who killed their own students.

She decided she was going to talk to Claude and see if he was the one who did that to the messenger. If he didn't do it, she'll use Divine Pulse and get Dimitri to go for Edelgard and ignore the Alliance.

However...if Claude wanted this to happen then she won't use divine pulse and...unfortunately may have to kill him off.

So since Byleth may have to fight Ignatz or Lysithea, she decided to try and kill them painlessly in the process just in case Claude did want this to happen...

Of course, she'd rather avoid interfering with them altogether but it seemed impossible now...

"What are you standing around for? Focus!"

Byleth and everyone else looked behind them to see the owner of that voice.

It was Dimitri. He was walking to where they were which was the central area which once was where Bernadetta was supposed to protect. Some of the Imperial Soldiers were killed but there were many a lot of Alliance soldiers in the way trying to get to Edelgard too.

Byleth was angry with him. "Dimitri why did you place the order to kill the Alliance?!"

"Why do you think? First of all, they refused to help us and second they're in our way again!" Dimitri hissed.

"But we didn't even get the-" Hilda was cut off.

"If you don't kill those alliance soldiers behind you then I will!"

Dimitri lunged at the alliance soldiers targeting Byleth and everyone else from behind.

"Claude clearly doesn't want us to stay alive." Dimitri snapped

"Yes because YOU made the order to KILL them!" Dorothea crossed her arms furiously.

Rodrigue sighed. "Please do not scold His Highness, He alone didn't make the decision, I did too. In fact, it was my idea to make that order in the first place and Gilbert agreed it would be for the best so I gave His Highness the demand. I'm sorry but we cannot take back those orders and it's just too risky to trust the Alliance as of right now. It does not matter though since the Alliance has no interest in cooperating with us now and most likely never did to begin with..."

Raphael looked pale. "Does...does that mean we will have to kill them?"

Rodrigue looked guilty. "Yes... However, we'll need help taking out some of the Imperial soldiers and some of their demonic beasts too. In a way though, killing Alliance soldiers will have to be necessary considering we have no idea what their intentions are and what they will do."

"But-"

One of the Imperial Generals yelled. "There are enemies in the central area... We need to head there immediately to protect it!"

Rodrigue frowned. "Professor you, Dimitri and a few others, doesn't matter who, just try to get the Alliance out of here!"

Byleth nodded and quickly did so, leaving Rodrigue and a few others in the central part of the field.

_Little did anyone know how much worse this battle turns out being..._

\-----


	86. The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 2/5: "Ignorance & Consequences"

\-----

Post timeskip, continuation of "The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 1: "The Grand Deceased" part. Do not read this unless you've read the "The Grand Deceased" part. References "The Ashen Demon" part.

\-----

_Byleth was now with Dimitri, Raphael, Hilda, Marianne, Alois, Shamir, Felix & Annette. It felt slightly unsettling._

Rodrigue had everyone else with him instead in the central area and some others were not far from Hubert. Well some of them such as Mercedes and Petra have retreated due to injuries that Byleth didn't even know that they got.

Her focusing on Bernadetta & Leonie must have a lot to do with that.

Some others such as Hapi, Yuri, Flayn, Ingrid & Dedue have already retreated due to injuries and Dimitri's wishes

Regardless, she tried to go where Claude and the Alliance are.

Still though, she suddenly saw an arrow aimed at the Kingdom Army.

Marianne got hit.

Byleth used divine pulse again to save her. Which makes this the sixth time now...

Byleth then went in front of Marianne and used her sword to get rid of the arrow so she can defend her friend.

"We must kill them all..." Dimitri exclaimed.

Raphael frowned. "Uh...but can we leave Ignatz out of it at-"

"Don't act like a fool, Raphael. Not one of them should have mercy." Dimitri cut off Raphael.

"...Ok."

"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO LEONIE! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO YOUR FATHER!" One of the alliance soldiers screamed at Byleth and suddenly attacked her.

She didn't realise what was going on and indeed got hit.

"Professor!" Dimitri was worried for her.

"It's fine..I'm fine." Byleth panted.

"No you're not! That bastard could've killed you!" Dimitri started to charge towards the soldier that said that.

Byleth sighed. This injury was worse than she thought. There was no way she could get to Claude with this injury...

She used divine pulse again. The seventh time now. Only three left.

One of the alliance soldiers screamed at her. "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO-"

Byleth quickly dodged and had no choice but to kill him.

"GAAAAAH! ...To hell with you... I hope you suffer Ashen Demon..." The soldier said his final words.

Byleth got goosebumps from those last words and almost protested to being called that name...but she didn't since she didn't blame the soldier for saying it..

Dimitri however, was angry to hear someone say something like that again. He wanted to stab the soldier but Hilda noticed and quickly stopped him.

"Dimitri! Stop! Do not make it worse!" Hilda yelled as she tried to go in front of Dimitri to prevent him from doing something silly.

"Move out of the way!" Dimitri wasn't having it.

Thankfully the soldier died before Dimitri could do anything brutal.

"Dammit! Why did you do that?" Dimitri asked Hilda.

No one understood this little quarrel that was going on between them.

"I get what he said was disgusting and it upsets you but give it a rest!" Hilda yelled.

"Wha..?" Byleth didn't know what to say.

"I don't nee- Hey!" Dimitri pointed out at an archer that was aiming at them.

Shamir used a dagger to get rid of the arrow.

Byleth and Raphael were the first ones to recognise the archer.

Ignatz.

Byleth sighed sadly when she thought to herself. _"No..not again why...Sothis...What can I do...? Is there a way to get to Claude without killing anyone...?"_

"Ignatz! Buddy! What are you doing?!" Raphael was frightened to see him.

"Are you serious?!" Hilda was frustrated seeing Ignatz as an enemy.

Ignatz explained what he was doing. "I am helping Claude build the future of Fodlan."

"But you're gonna die!" Raphael tried to say more words but couldn't.

"And so I die. You chose to fight the alliance, Raphael, remember? It could've been avoided if you chose to stay but you didn't..."

"Ignatz..."

"I simply do not have time for this rubbish!" Dimitri started to lose patience.

"No! Dimitri! Stop!" Byleth yelled.

But it was too late, Dimitri was already charging at Ignatz and killed him.

Byleth had to use divine pulse. There was no way she will let Ignatz die like that nor will she let Raphael watch his friend die in such an inhumane way. Even if there was a chance that she'll use divine pulse to get back to the beginning of the battle, there was no way she could let them die like that...

That was now the eighth time. Byleth wasn't far from the limit but she recklessly didn't keep count of how many times...

"Ignatz..."

Byleth then quickly blocked Dimitri from moving forward by going in front of him like Hilda did earlier before he even got the chance to say that line from earlier.

Raphael sighed. "Is that how you want this to end Ignatz?"

"I don't have any plans on dying here but if I die like this then it's fine. I cannot say that I trust Fodlan to be in the arms of those who only care for revenge but so be it." Ignatz looked down.

"Ok..." Raphael looked really sad.

Byleth tried to convince Dimitri. "I'll do it, Dimitri just-"

"No!" Dimitri protested.

Before Dimitri could do anything, Byleth and Raphael quickly charged at Ignatz with their weapons and attacked him.

The wound was major and he shrieked badly, he may have fallen to the ground but he was still holding his weapon and was still alive.

Byleth then looked at him and reached for his hand, giving him an offer to be spared.

 _"Maybe...just maybe...and maybe I could do this with Divine Pulse for Leonie & Bernadetta too...Maybe there is a way for them all to be saved..."_ Byleth hoped to herself.

Ignatz stared at her in surprise and he looked like he wanted to reach for her hand too... but he then slightly glimpsed at Dimitri which caused him to tremble and shiver. Ignatz then slightly looked down at his own body, seeing that he was still holding his bow and still had a few more arrows left...

 _"Forgive me for this..."_ He quietly mumbled to himself.

He then stood up, moved back and then quickly aimed an arrow with his bow at Byleth's shoulder and didn't miss. Though it somehow didn't give her a major wound unfortunately for him.

It did still injure her though.

Byleth flinched from the pain but she managed to try and stay strong. She then swung her sword at Ignatz which fatally wounded him, only giving him a few more seconds to live now.

He shrieked in pain as Byleth swung her sword and fell down to the ground.

"It's over for me. I did my best." Ignatz could barely talk.

He then joined Bernadetta, Leonie and many others who already lost their lives in this battle.

This fight was by far the most awful and displeasing one Byleth ever fought in. She hated this so much...

Claude was sad. "I'm sorry, Ignatz... I wasn't able to save you..."

Byleth's heart shattered when she saw him die like that.

But it still wasn't over. Edelgard had other plans unfortunately... "Those fools who went up the hill will pay with their lives...in the crimson flames!"

She then saw Edelgard planting a fire attack on the central area which was where Bernadetta and Leonies' corpses were. It was disgusting because Edelgard's own allies (who were still alive and fighting Rodrigue and the others) were also on there too.

"Rodrigue! Everyone! Watch out!" Byleth alerted them.

They all tried to get out in time and did. Some did get burns but nothing too concerning.

However...Something was still shattering Byleth to see.

Bernadetta and Leonies' corpses were on there and now...are suddenly being burned into the flames.

Byleth shouldn't feel sad about it because they're already dead but...it's not pleasant to see people that were once alive and kind suddenly have their lifeless bodies burn into the flames like that...

Not long after, Bernadetta, Leonie and many other soldiers' corpses were completely gone in those flames...

Byleth then found herself staring at it. She wanted to look away but she couldn't...

"Professor! Watch out for-" Hilda yelled.

Byleth then turned around and dodged the magic attack. She looked up to see a girl with white hair.

It was Lysithea.

Byleth hated this fight, it was so horrible and unnecessary...

"Don't expect me to go easy on you. Because I won't." Lysithea said.

She casted magic on Byleth but missed.

Byleth tried to reason with her. "Lysi-"

Lysithea cut her off. "Don't try to convince me to do anything. I'll never join an army led by some... some... one-eyed beast!"

"But Lysithea, I'm not trying to get you to join! I just want yo-"

"I don't care what you want me to do whether it's for me to join or not, Professor! I will never run or ever hold back in killing you all, ever!" Lysithea growled.

She seemed to be unreasonable at this moment...

Byleth then realised that Lysithea must have seen what happened between her and Ignatz when it came to being spared which caused her heart to sink...

Annette teared up a bit. "Please...Don't make us kill you too Lysithea."

"Then let me kill you. I must ask though...If you do indeed kill me then at least have the decency to do it quickly." Lysithea sighed heavily.

Felix and Shamir then suddenly charged at her and stabbed her with their weapons repeatedly.

"No Guys!" Byleth yelled.

"Professor..thanks for the memories. Fair warning though Professor, I'll likely come back to haunt you." Lysithea said just about she was about to die from being stabbed again.

Those words were haunting enough to hear so she used Divine Pulse again. For the ninth time and now she only has one more left but she wasn't aware of that...

She went back to just after Annette teared up.

"Then let me kill you. I must ask though...If you do indeed kill me then at least have the decency to do it quickly." Lysithea sighed heavily.

Byleth nodded and went to Lysithea before anyone had the chance to.

"Take this! Thoron!" Lysithea yelled.

Byleth easily dodged the magic spell and ran closer towards Lysithea.

"It's the end..I'm sorry Lysithea.." Byleth said before she quickly stabbed Lysithea with the sword of the creator.

She, like everyone else, shrieked in pain and fell down to the ground, covered in blood.

She had her face on the ground, barely able to talk. "I thought I'd be able to live...just a little bit longer than...this..."

She quickly died after that...

Claude sighed and wasn't far behind her at all. "Lysithea... She burned too brightly, and faded too fast..."

Shamir, Alois, Raphael and a few others needed to retreat. Their injuries (and emotions) won't help them here.

So Byleth let them do so.

However, Claude finally showed himself to Byleth and Dimitri now that Lysithea was out of the way...

"Claude." Dimitri tried to hit him with his lance but missed.

"Calm down, Dimitri! What does it achieve, us killing each other here?" Claude frowned as he moved back to dodge Dimitri's attack.

"Move, Claude. I have no time to exchange words with you."

Claude shrugged it off and got out his Failnaught bow, prepared to fight. "It doesn't matter what I'm saying, does it? You aren't even listening. But I'm not gonna budge."

Dimitri, Annette, Felix and some of the others quickly gave Claude fatal wounds and planned on doing more until time suddenly stopped.

Byleth used Divine Pulse again.. **however...she didn't realise something when she used it this time...**

Byleth defended Claude from the first fatal lance attack before Claude even had the time to react.

...She wasn't sure why she felt so randomly exhausted all of a sudden but she shrugged it off.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri snapped.

"You can't kill Claude. Something's not right! Dimitri, we need to ask him questions!" Byleth scolded Dimitri.

Claude looked at Byleth. "So, you're actually alive, Teach! It's a shame you aren't on our side."

Dimitri quickly swung his lance at Claude after he said that. He wasn't going to let him try and potentially persuade Byleth to betray the Kingdom Army.

He did badly wound Claude in the hip from doing that but thankfully it wasn't fatal.

"Dimitri! Stop it!" Byleth yelled.

"But he-"

"Just...hold back ok." Byleth sighed.

"..Fine but don't take too long with that traitorous fool!"

Claude was confused by those last two words. _"Traitorous fool?"_

He shrugged it off and continued despite his wound. "Anyway, isn't the Empire your enemy? Us fighting seems like a waste."

"YOU'RE A WAST-" Dimitri snapped. He had no idea what he was even saying anymore...

Hilda cut Dimitri off and scolded them both. "Both of you stop it! Claude, why are you even here anyway?!"

"Yeah good question actually... Why are you even here? And...did you kill our messenger?" Byleth asked.

Claude had no idea what she was talking about. "Kill who? What are you talking about? And I came here to invade the empire not to fight with you guys!"

Dimitri didn't believe him. "Don't play dumb. I bet this is one of your little schemes, isn't it?"

"Trust me my friend, it isn-"

"Don't call me your friend. I'm not your friend." Dimitri angrily cut him off.

"Ok then... Trust me guys, for once this isn't a scheme and what do you mean by messenger?"

Annette explained what they were talking about. "Lord Rodrigue sent a messenger asking if we can join forces and the answer you gave us was...the messenger's corpse. Saying you don't want to be allies."

"What? I didn't- When did-" Claude was speechless. _Now he understood why the Kingdom Army was fighting them._

"I had a feeling you didn't do it, Claude. It was the Imperial Army." Byleth sighed.

Byleth tried to use divine pulse again to go back to the beginning of this battle so she could save the lives from the Alliance soldiers she took away from them... but...

...?!

But for some reason...she couldn't!

She used her limit...without even realising it...

Byleth panicked with new thoughts. _"No..No this can't be...No... I used it all? B-but..they...Oh my god..."_

Which means...the golden deer students...they were all dead... because Edelgard purposefully tricked everyone...

She cursed Edelgard's name under her breath for doing such a thing.

While Byleth admits that it was clever on Edelgard's part, that didn't stop her anger because it was Edelgard's fault that this all happened to the golden deer students and the students in officer's academy even...

"While I don't doubt that the Imperial Army would do that, how can we trust you?" Dimitri asks.

Byleth spoke for Claude. "I may not know Claude well, I'll admit but I really don't think he'd do that type of thing..."

Dimitri sighed and left them all without Byleth noticing since she was looking away from Dimitri and at Claude instead.

_It seemed like he wanted to kill a certain someone else._

Byleth and everyone with her turned to Claude again, with guilty types of expressions written all over their faces...

"Claude...I'm so sorry..." Byleth apologised.

"Heh don't worry. I get it Teach. It's ok. I mean..I just wish we sorted this out before...you know." Claude sighed.

He slightly might have a hard time truly forgiving them for killing certain people...but there wasn't really anything he could do at this point. He and the Alliance can only retreat for now... Their chances were too low to pick a fight anyways...

Byleth slowly nodded. She never regretted using Divine Pulse so much until now...

She also noticed that Claude's smile once again...didn't reach his eyes which made Byleth feel worse.

"But there isn't much that can be done about it now I suppose. We'll retreat and let you take care of Edelgard ok? I wish you luck and I'm sorry about all of that." Claude nodded.

"Everyone in the Alliance! Retreat immediately!" Claude yelled out and gave the order.

And so all the remaining ones left which sadly wasn't many thanks to the Empire and Kingdom armies left with him.

Claude is trying to handle that wound that Dimitri gave him but...it wasn't easy to ignore.

"Damn...That hurts..." Claude sighed to himself, putting his hand over his wound as he retreated using his wyvern.

Byleth slightly collapses on her knees out of exhaustion from using divine pulse but Hilda, Annette and Marianne quickly catch her fall.

"Woah! Professor! Are you ok?" Hilda was concerned.

Byleth was panting a bit but it wasn't huge. "I'm ok Hilda..Just exhausted..."

"I can imagine...It's been really hard, huh?" Hilda had a sad expression on her face.

Byleth slowly nodded and tried to get her balance back.

But it wasn't easy, overusing the divine pulse really takes a toll on her body...

"Hey look, the boar... he is...?!" Felix realised.

Byleth then looked up and saw.

"Dimitri! What are you doing?" Rodrigue yelled.

Byleth tried to walk up properly and then took a few steps forward to where Dimitri was but she collapsed on her knees again while doing so.

 _"Grrr...stupid injuries and me overusing divine pulse again."_ Byleth thought to herself.

"Professor! You have no energy to go anywhere!" Marianne was concerned for her friend and still held on to her to prevent her from overdoing it again.

"I'm fine! Please let me go! I can't let Dimitri get himself killed." Byleth tried to escape from their grasp.

Dimitri had some words to say to the person he was about to kill. "Stab your chest, break your neck, smash your head... I will allow you to choose your own death."

The person was Edelgard.....

Edelgard remained calm with him despite his intolerable behaviour. "I'm not interested in methods of dying. All that matters is when death takes place, not how."

She then turned a bit more aggressive and got her axe out. "And I have no intention of dying today."

Dimitri gave her a disgusted look. "I'm sure all the people you've slaughtered so far thought the same."

They then started a fight between each other.

Byleth was trying to get there but she was weak and her friends were trying to prevent her from doing so.

Byleth tried to escape Annette and Marianne's grasp. "I beg of you... let me go..I need to do something!"

Before they responded though, Rodrigue came up to all of the remaining soldiers.

"You all must retreat immediately! Professor! Keep an eye on the prince while I'm gone! I'll be back shortly!" Rodrigue came up to Byleth and everyone else.

"What?! You're going to leave the boar here?!" Felix argued.

Byleth agreed with Felix on this one. That's insanely risky even if she is here.

Not to mention she feels like she'll faint any second...

Rodrigue tried to reassure them. "It's only for a short while and the Professor is here! ...Professor?!"

Marianne objected to this idea. "N-no! The Professor is not in condition to-"

Byleth tried to reassure her, Hilda & Annette."No Marianne, seriously. I appreciate your and everyone's concern but I'm ok. I'm just tired. However, Rodrigue, I don't think it's wise to leave-"

"Just trust me on this Professor!" Rodrigue begged.

Byleth saw a look in Rodrigue's eyes and for some reason, she felt like she needed to trust him on this.

Byleth shakily nodded. "Ok but be careful! Now please guys, you can let me go, I promise I won't get hurt."

"...Ok but please keep that promise." Annette asked.

Byleth nodded. "Yes I will."

She then ran to Dimitri's aid who was struggling against Edelgard.

"This isn't good! Everyone retreat and follow me now!" Rodrigue ordered.

They all had no choice but to do so.

Dimitri's lance and Edelgard's axe clashed together, kind of like that nightmare Byleth had.

Byleth shook her head and tried to remove those thoughts. It felt gut wrenching to remember that disgusting nightmare.

Byleth then tried to swing her sword at Edelgard sneakily.

It was risky but even though she did promise Annette that'd she be okay, she couldn't care less about her own life especially after killing her own students in the battle before.

Edelgard walked back and saw Byleth. She didn't look like she wanted to fight her.

"What are you doing here?!" Dimitri asked Byleth.

Byleth said nothing.

Edelgard spoke to Byleth. "I knew when next we met one of our paths would have to come to an end."

Dimitri's anger increased but Edelgard continued. "Your journey ends here Professor. Forever..."

Edelgard then charged forward at Byleth specifically and ignored Dimitri. Byleth was still incredibly weak from divine pulse so she couldn't do much to defend herself.

Dimitri then gave Edelgard an injury by taking advantage of her focus on Byleth.

Edelgard then walked backwards. "I lost?! Just as expected, you aren't making my path an easy one."

"Lady Edelgard! We cannot go any further!" One of her soldiers screamed out.

Edelgard nodded and then looked at them both. "I must retreat for now. We'll meet again on the battlefield."

Dimitri wouldn't take it. "You're not getting away you monster!"

He swung his lance at Edelgard but missed and she ran as fast as possible.

She had some archers that were escaping with her that she gave permission to shoot if any of her enemies followed her.

Dimitri was absolutely angry and tried to run to her.

Byleth wanted to catch up but she couldn't. She was too weak from using divine pulse and the injuries. It weighed her down a ton.

She's honestly surprised she hadn't even fainted yet.

"Dimitri...No...stop!" Byleth yelled.

Dimitri ignored her and spoke to himself. "So, you think you can escape, Edelgard?..."

\-----


	87. The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 3/5: "The Feral Lion..."

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place right after "The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 2: Ignorance & Consequences." part. Do not read this part unless you've read that one and do NOT read this part without reading "What's the matter lion?" part because this may not make much sense if you don't read them.

\-----

_Byleth tried to catch up to where Dimitri was but he continued to make his way to try and get Edelgard._

However Rodrigue then finally came back to the field and thankfully wasn't far behind Dimitri.

Little did he know though...A certain someone else followed him back to the field...

Rodrigue was relieved to see that he was okay. "Your Highness! You're alive! We have to retreat to the Great Bridge of Myriddin..."

Dimitri growled to himself and then spoke again. "That woman... We failed to capture her. I will keep pursuing. The rest of you, keep fighting!"

Byleth tried to get closer to them but was still struggling. She felt like she was going to faint any moment but she knew she couldn't allow herself to.

Rodrigue spoke back. "I'm so sorry...but we can't do that. I understand how you feel, but the Imperial army is closing in!"

Dimitri then turned around to face Rodrigue, letting his guard down. "I'll kill all of them! No matter how many hundreds or thousands of them there are!"

Rodrigue was going to speak again but then he realised there was something or rather **_someone_** behind Dimitri.

This someone was the girl that they met in the Great Bridge of Myriddin.

Byleth then saw her too and was confused. _"How did she get here? When did she...why is she...?"_

Rodrigue was the first to speak. "You... What are you doing here?! It's too dangerous! Fall back, now!"

The girl smirked in a mocking way. "Heh."

Byleth and Rodrigue saw what she was holding.

A sword...

The child then ran towards Dimitri from behind and stabbed one of his hips with her weapon. Then stabbed him in the shoulder.

Rodrigue screamed in terror. "Your Highness!"

Dimitri tilted his head back to face the child. "You...are..."

The child gave Dimitri a sadistic smirk as she stabbed him in the leg.

She laughed and laughed in a mocking type of way. "Have I caught you off guard, Your Highness?"

Byleth's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that she was seeing this.

But at the same time...she had known something was off about that girl...

**And yet she never said anything about it for some reason...**

The child continued to mock him. "Aww, does it hurt? I bet it hurts reaaaal bad, doesn't it? But it's nothing compared to what my brother felt!"

She then started crying when she remembered her brother. "You will never be forgiven, you know. I will never forgive you!"

Dimitri was panting from the injuries the kid gave him. Or rather the injuries he is letting her give him. "You... You must be..."

_"So I was the monster who killed her brother huh... Of course.."_ Dimitri tilted his head away from her as he thought to himself.

He also noticed that this kid had the same look that he had in his own eyes. Hatred, anger, revenge... **stuff he knew so well...**

Byleth was so angry that she had overused her powers, and she was also angry at the child, she had always been suspicious but now she couldn't do anything about it and she didn't even have time to yell. She needed to run to Dimitri. However she was really slow and unable to.

The kid wasn't done yet sadly. "You filthy monster! It's time to DIIIIE!"

Byleth wasn't close enough and accidentally tripped over.

She tried to stand back up and get to Dimitri in time but she couldn't...

"Dimitri run!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Dimitri then gave Byleth a look, and that's when it hit Byleth.

He was going to let himself die...He's given up on living...

Kind of like how she felt when her father died..

Byleth wouldn't allow it.

The child was going to stab Dimitri again to finally end his life but then something happened.

Rodrigue used his body to shield Dimitri from getting fatally stabbed multiple times. "Dimitri!"

Byleth and Dimitri were shocked.

Rodrigue fell down to the ground, covered in blood. "Gah... P-Professor... Do it now!"

When Byleth was close enough, she used the sword of the creator from a distance to kill the girl.

The girl screamed in pain. "Agahhhh!"

She fell down and said her last words. "B-brother... Help...me..."

She closed her eyes and quickly died after that.

Dimitri panicked when he saw Rodrigue who seemed like he wasn't going to survive. He bent down to him. "Rodrigue!"

Byleth dropped her sword and tried to run to them both which took a short while but she made it.

Rodrigue was panting and struggling. He looked at Dimitri and was scared for him. "Your Highness... Are you safe? Please tell me... it wasn't in vain..."

Dimitri then had that look that he used to have when he was younger... Both Byleth and Rodrigue noticed it.

Dimitri started crying. "This punishment...it was mine to bear."

Rodrigue could barely breathe. "There are no sins or punishments... on the battlefield..."

"NO! Don't die... Please, don't die!" Dimitri begged between his sobbing.

Byleth was pinching her wounds out of stress and anger. On how useless she feels right now...

She begged Sothis in her mind. _"Sothis please...give me another Divine Pulse please...please...Dammit please....Sothis.....I...."_

She wanted to use Divine Pulse so badly now.

But she couldn't...she had used her limit already.

She was so furious with herself...

Dimitri kept crying. "Father, Stepmother, Glenn... They all died and left me behind. Rodrigue... Are you going to join the ghosts who shadow my every move? This is my fault... I... I'm the one who killed you, as surely as though I had wielded the blade!"

Rodrigue slightly chuckled. "Heh. Your Highness. You have one thing...terribly wrong."

He struggled to breathe even more but still proceeded to clear something up. "None of them...none of us...died for you. I'm dying for what I believe in...just as they did."

.....

For what he believes in...?

Byleth remembers being told those words but instead it being involved with her living for she believed in.

In fact that's how she got so far...because of what Sothis told her so long ago...

"Your life is your own. It belongs to no other, living or dead." Rodrigue's eyes were starting to flutter.

Dimitri kept crying and crying. This looked just like what happened to Byleth's eyes when she had Jeralt dying in front of her.

Rodrigue smiled a bit at Dimitri. "Dimitri... My boy... You really do look like His Majesty..."

...Rodrigue tears up a bit as he remembered the promise he kept for his best friend Lambert.

Rodrigue's eyes were barely open at this point. "Lambert... My promise... I..."

His eyes then glanced at Byleth and when he did so, he knew that there will be someone who will be there for him in his stead and in Lambert's stead.

He threw her a smile and then closed his eyes.

He took his final breath and then allowed himself to die in Dimitri's arms.

"R-Rodrigue! No! Don't die! Open your eyes! OPEN YOUR EYES!" Dimitri sobbed.

...Nothing.

He was definitely dead...

"NO! PLEASE! I...I CAN'T! NO!" Dimitri was still in disbelief.

He bawled his eyes out over Rodrigue's corpse.

Byleth was going to try and comfort him despite being in disbelief herself until...someone arrived.

"...What...What just...?"

Byleth gulped when she heard that familiar voice. Of all people it could have been to see Rodrigue's corpse.

Of all people... Why did Felix have to be here...?

He wasn't alone either since Annette & Sylvain were here too. Probably to see what was taking so long...

They all looked shocked...especially Felix.

Actually...Felix looked more angry than he looked shocked.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FATHER?!" Felix screamed.

Dimitri flinched and turned his head to look at Felix.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU BOAR! ANSWER ME YOU DAMN COWARD!" Felix yelled.

Dimitri softly spoke and looked back down on Rodrigue's corpse. "He died...because of me..."

Felix was absolutely furious which was completely understandable.

Yes Felix hated his father but...it was still his father.

He grabbed his sword out.

"Boar...When I get my damn hands on-"

Annette interrupted and held him back. "No! You can't! Felix!"

"Let me go...this boar took my brother and father from me because of some silly revenge..." Felix said in a cold and quiet tone.

"Please Felix.. Please don't..." Annette teared up.

Felix sighed. He just allowed himself to collapse on his knees to the ground in anger and fear. He clearly wasn't himself at the moment which again was understandable.

Annette & Sylvain went and comforted Felix. He surprisingly accepted it.

"Your Highness..." Sylvain struggled to find the right words.

...The voices in Dimitri's head screamed at him.

**_" A V E N G E "_ **

**_" H E D I E D B E C A U S E Y O U F A I L E D T O K I L L H E R "_ **

**_" K I L L H E R N O W ! "_ **

.....

Dimitri stood up and looked around on the ground.

"What are you doing now Boar?" Felix asked aggressively.

"It's none of your concern." He said softly.

"Stop using that as a damn excuse for once in your life."

"Well I'm looking for my lance, if you want to know so badly."

Byleth's eyes widened when she realised why. "No Dimitri! Don't even think about going after Edelgard."

Dimitri was angry again and gave on using the lance to kill Edelgard. He started to try and walk to the direction that Edelgard retreated in. There were a lot of archers following her from behind. "I will not let Rodrigue's death be in vain! I must...kill Edelgard!"

Byleth tried to go in front of him and block him from going any further. She was using the last of any remaining energy to make sure he wouldn't go after Edelard. "No! Don't you dare Dimitri! I won't let you."

"...Just please move..."

"I won't let you get yourself killed! You don't even have a weapon!" Byleth argued.

Dimitri sighed, stood still and grabbed out a weapon. "I do actually."

He had a dagger in his coat pocket.

Byleth stared at the dagger realising...

_It was the same dagger that he had previously given Edelgard..._

"Dimitri didn't you listen to what Rodrigue just said?!" Byleth asked him.

"Please, just...go away."

Byleth continued. "He told you that he died for what he believed in. Your life doesn't belong to the dead or living, it belongs to you and only you."

He wanted to believe that but the voices in his head told him something else. **_" IT'S NOT TRUE. ALL LIES. SHE IS LYING TO YOU "_**

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Just let me get through! I will kill every last one of them! That's...that's all I'm good for!"

"You're wrong!" Byleth argued.

"I'm not wrong! Get out of my way now! I know that a dagger isn't a strong weapon but it's still a weapon! I can kill people with it! I can... still kill Edelgard with it!" Dimitri yelled.

.....

Byleth then took a deep breath. _She knew what she needed to do now..._

Byleth sighed. "Ok Dimitri..If you're going to risk your life to kill Edelgard using a dagger...then I dare you to kill me with it, because you will have to do that to walk past me."

.....

Dimitri blinked at her a couple of times.

_"Is she serious?"_ He thought to himself.

Annette was the first to panic. "Pro-Professor! What are you-"

She threw Annette a smile which silenced her. She seemed to know what she was doing. He couldn't speak anymore.

Dimitri sighed. "Just get out of the way. I'll...I'll kill them all...so please...move..."

Byleth shook her head. "Start with me then."

"Professor!" Felix was worried.

"Enough of your foolish jokes, I-"

"It's not a joke Dimitri...If you believe you can kill Edelgard and the Imperial Army on your own with a dagger then you shouldn't have any problem killing me with it before you go...so...please do it." Byleth said in a soft tone despite how strong the words were.

She knew this was the only way to get him to remember...

The voices in Dimitri's head... They screamed at him...begging for him to do it...

**_" D O I T "_ **

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

Dimitri was trying so hard to not listen. He didn't want to kill her or hurt her in any way. He closed his eye.

"...Professor, I won't ev-" He interrupted himself when he opened his eye and thinks he is seeing something else instead of the one he loved.

Byleth and everyone else weren't there anymore...

It was a ghost that was standing exactly where Byleth was standing just before...

The one ghost that Dimitri _**despised...**_

"ℍ𝕖𝕙. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣, 𝕃𝕚𝕠𝕟?"

He flinched when he heard those words come out of that ghost's mouth...

It was that ghost again...

His younger self's ghost...

The scary ghost that he wanted to make disappear forever!

It made him furious...

Furious enough to forget about Byleth and make him vision that it's just him and the ghost right there and then.

The younger self ghost sounded like he was taunting Dimitri. "𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖? 𝔸ℍ𝔸ℍ𝔸ℍ𝔸ℍ𝔸! 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖? 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 '𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖' 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣? ...𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕤𝕪𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝... 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕒."

.....

Byleth noticed something about Dimitri when he interrupted himself.

_"Could it be...those unseen forces again? Was he now...now mistaking me as them?"_ She wondered. 

Dimitri had enough of everything.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed at the ghost and then, losing touch with reality, he lifted his hand to stab Byleth with the dagger, in his mind he was completely confused and had somehow accidentally merged Byleth with the ghost without even realising it.

Byleth knew immediately that her intuition was correct the moment Dimitri lashed out.

The others however, didn't.

"No! Dimitri! What..." Annette cried.

"Boar!" Felix yelled.

Byleth kept still, she knew he wouldn't be able to kill her, but what if he continued to confuse her with the ghost....?

"I'LL PROVE IT TO YOU...I'LL GET REVENGE SO DISAPPEAR!" He yelled at Byleth whom he mistook as the ghost and went to stab them with the dagger.

He moved the dagger towards where Byleth's heart was.

...Or at least he attempted to.

The dagger was right before her heart, if he moved the dagger any further forward, she'd be stabbed. 

But he stopped confused, something clicked in his mind....he suddenly realised he had somehow mistook her as the ghost he wanted to perish...Byleth had known he would come to his senses, recognise the confusion between her and the ghost. She knew he would never be able to kill her. 

Dimitri knew that too. That he could never kill or ever hurt Byleth.

Then everyone else around them knew it too...

**His eyes widened when he looked at his hands...**

**He realised that he was... about to stab the one he is in love with...**

_"What am I...Why am I...?"_

The ghost behind Byleth had words to say. _"...Exactly..."_

Dimitri's whole body was shaken up. His arms were shaking while he was holding the dagger.

The ghost behind Byleth said something, softly instead of it's mocking bratty tone. _"Do you understand now Lion...?"_

Dimitri ignored the ghost and instead stared at Byleth.

He then glimpsed back at Rodrigue's corpse and realised that his sacrifice was to help him snap out of it...

And it did succeed...

He then looked back at Byleth and at the dagger.

"My god I... Professor what just....." he could barely speak.

He couldn't say anything.

He felt so foolish and ashamed right there and then...

He couldn't believe what he was about to do to her...

The fact he considered it at all...made him want to vomit...

Byleth looked at him. "Dimitri...Please understand...Listen to what Rodrigue said. Your life is your own and only yours... We all love and care about you..."

He saw the light and kindness in her eyes...and then looked back at the dagger...

Then he realised...His path lead to doom...

And that...he wanted save himself from falling in that doom...

He dropped the dagger and collapsed to the floor on his knees, out of shock.

And he cried...and cried...

He bawls and cries.

"I'm sorry...I...why.....I'm so sorry...I..."

Byleth gave him a hug and reassured him. "I know you're sorry Dimitri...It's ok, I'm sorry If I sounded like I was forcing you to do it but you understand now, right?"

He didn't respond... he just continued to cry...

At that moment... he felt so lucky to have met someone like her.

But at the same time...he feels like he doesn't deserve her comfort or help...

He glimpsed back at the ghost as he felt his eyelids get heavy.

He realised something again.

Was this ghost..no...his own ghost...was it not asking for revenge?

Was it trying to do something else...?

Was it trying...to challenge Dimitri somewhat? To challenge..his true feelings..?

Was it trying to tell him... that he still was human?

That maybe...there was hope after all..

But...why them?

...Dimitri felt his eyelids get heavier...

But he noticed something...

_That Rodrigue helped him snap out of it... Helped him stop being the revenge thirsty beast..._

.....

Not long after that, Dimitri's injuries caused him to faint.

"Your Highness?! Are you both okay?!" Annette panicked for her two friends.

Byleth sighed when she realised why he fell like that. "He fainted from the injuries. We must help take him back to the monastery immediately for his wounds to heal. He got stabbed multiple times on the hip and shoulder."

"What about your injury Professor?" Sylvain asked.

"...The shoulder one? It barely hurts and Dimitri and many others need care urgently unlike me." Byleth reassured Sylvain.

Byleth was still exhausted from the overuse of divine pulse but she is still trying very hard to pull through. It wasn't nearly as bad as that time in Lone Moon...

Part of her hated herself for challenging Dimitri to try and stab her with the dagger... She now knows he'd probably felt bad about it and might not forgive himself for it but she knew that she needed to help him realise he was haunted by ghosts...

_And thankfully it did....._

\-----


	88. The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 4/5: "Live For What You Believe In."

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place later the same day as Chapter seventeen. Takes place a few hours after events The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 1. Do not read any further if you haven't read that one. References "That Fateful Meeting" part, "Heartbreaking tears" part, part 8-10 of the "Nowhere left to hide" arc, all parts of "One's True Feelings" arc, "The Answer..." part & "In The Dark" part. 

\-----

_Dimitri's eyes start to flutter open._

He looks up to the bright blue sky.

He...is confused so he leans up and then stands up.

He seems to be...in some grassy field...

He also can see through two eyes now...it was weird.

He wasn't in Faerghus because it was insanely hot so..he couldn't tell at the moment.

 _"Was that all...just a dream? But it felt too real..."_ He wondered.

"Dimitri! There you are!" A familiar, happy voice called out to him.

Dimitri turns around to see Rodrigue.

"Oh! Hello there Rodrigue!" Dimitri sighed in relief.

 _"That scary death I saw of him, it wasn't real...Oh my god...thank goodness it wasn't real."_ He thought to himself

Rodrigue ran to him and gently grabbed his hand. "We've all been looking for you! Come on! Let's go!"

"Huh? Where are we going?" Dimitri tilted his head.

"We are going to see Lambert! He has a special present for you!" He grins.

Dimitri was a bit weirded out.

Dimitri quietly asked himself. "Wait...everything that happened in those years... Was that all just a dream? But..how?"

 _"Oh yeah..._ ** _that's right."_** Rodrigue stood still.

Dimitri looked up at him, all confused at the sudden seriousness of Rodrigue.

 _"He's dead and so am I..._ ** _BECAUSE OF YOU!"_** Rodrigue suddenly had a weapon stabbed in him from behind and then dropped to the ground.

"Wha..?" Dimitri backed away.

Now he could only see out of one eye just like that dream he had.

 ** _"YOU DIDN'T AVENGE US!"_** His stepmother showed up behind him.

He quickly turned around and walked backwards in fear. "I...Step mother! No! I..."

 ** _"WHAT KIND OF SON ARE YOU?!"_** Then Lambert suddenly appeared behind Dimitri.

"F-father!" Dimitri turned around again and walked backwards.

"What is going on? What is this...?"

He trips over and falls on something.

He turns around to see what he falls on.

Some mirror...it's surprising he didn't break it...

He looked into his reflection. It was the same look he had in that "nightmare" from earlier.

He then touched it and it wilted like a flower, creeping him out.

He stood up and tried to run away in fear. He had no idea what was happening...

 ** _"KILL EDELGARD!"_** Glenn yelled.

"Glenn!" Dimitri shrieked.

**_" K I L L "_ **

**_" D E S T R O Y "_ **

**_" K I L L N O W "_ **

This caused Dimitri to fall backwards.

**"Hello there..."**

He heard someone's voice from behind. He looked up from behind where he was sitting.

It was Edelgard.

 **"Too late in getting revenge Dimitri. Now, I'll take that head off your shoulders. It only makes sense for a beast like you..."** She said coldly and swung her axe on his neck.

"Edelgard!" Dimitri flinched and tried to get away but couldn't.

 **"Have fun in hell Dimitri..."** Edelgard said in a devilish voice.

\-----

"GAH!" Dimitri leaned up from a bed and was panting.

He sighed to himself when he realised it was just a dream

...but it still was telling the truth..

Rodrigue was dead now...just like the others...

"Oh Your Highness... It seems like you're finally awake."

Dimitri tried to use his eyes to find the owner of the voice until he realised he was not in his room.

He was lying on a bed in the infirmary.

He then saw who the voice belonged to.

Manuela, which made perfect sense because she would normally be here.

He then looked down to see that he wasn't wearing his coat and he felt some weird bandages on his body even though he had his clothes on.

Manuela quickly realised that he noticed it and explained truthfully. "...Before you get upset, it wasn't me who put the bandages on your chest and arms, It was Hanneman so don't-"

"I don't care who did it." Dimitri said.

Manuela sighed. "Of course you don't. Well, I recommend you stay in that bed for a while since your injuries are still terrible."

"...Why am I here? What happened?" Dimitri was confused and put his hand over his forehead.

"You got stabbed multiple times by the child if I recall. One thing I mainly know is that Gilbert, the Professor, Ingrid, Ashe and many others insisted on me helping you with those injuries despite having injuries of their own. Everyone was very concerned about you, you know."

Dimitri flinched at the mention of Byleth.

He remembers when he accidentally almost stabbed her with that dagger..

He felt guilty remembering it...

He was so disgusted at himself for even considering it at all...

"Oh and your weapons are carefully stored away in your room too. That lance, dagger, all of that." Manuela reassured him.

"What about the Professor's injuries?" Dimitri quickly asked.

"Her shoulder and parts of her other arm are bandaged already. She didn't seem to care too much about herself that much." Manuela sighed.

"Is she ok though?"

"Yes. Speaking of her...she wanted me to tell her when you wake up so I'll be back shortly. Maybe she'll come with me, if so I'll probably go to sleep for the night..." Manuela waved and left the room.

Dimitri didn't want to see Byleth. He felt way too guilty to see her at the moment.

So he got out of his bed which opened up his wounds. "Ow damn.."

He grabbed his coat and left the infirmary despite his injuries.

He walked down stairs, hoping that Manuela wouldn't notice him.

In fact he hoped no one would see him at the moment.

He just realised it was night and how cloudy it was...looked like it was going to rain or something.

He wasn't sure where he was going. Probably to the Cathedral or something.

On his way there though, he heard some voices.

**_"I....c...a........b.......l......i.....e.......i....."_ **

He could hear them very well but they sort of sounded like sobs.

So he decided to go and see what it was.

The mumblings got louder and louder...

Then he made it to the entrance of the Cathedral and looked inside.

And now he wishes he didn't...

All of the people he once considered classmates were there..

They were...mourning...crying....everything...

**"I can't believe I killed her..."**

**"Why did I come to the academy? I should've never come..."**

**"Bernadetta...I'm so sorry..."**

**"Leonie why?"**

This was terrifying.

The only ones who weren't present was Dedue, Yuri & Hapi but that was only because this situation would certainly get Hapi to sigh. Dedue & Yuri though, reasons are unknown why they aren't here

Dorothea was crying on Petra's shoulder. Annette and Mercedes were hugging each other as they sobbed with Felix trying to be comforting despite losing his own father earlier that day.

Sylvain was comforting Ingrid & Ashe from what happened. Hilda was hugging Marianne, trying to cheer her up. Caspar and Raphael were trying to help comfort anyone who needed it.

"Then...she...Bern..stopped breathing and her body burned in the..." Dorothea sobbed as she was holding some familiar looking teddy bear.

"Ignatz, Lysithea & Leonie died for nothing... There was no reason to... Dammit why?" He heard another sob from a voice he couldn't identify.

**_" Y O U R F A U L T "_ **

Dimitri heard the voice in his head and hid behind the wall.

**_" M A K E U P F O R I T N O W "_ **

Dimitri understood what they were telling him to do...

They were telling him to leave and kill Edelgard now.

That will finally end the suffering and horror of what's happening and of what he caused to everyone here...

He clenched his fists and made his way to leave the Monastery.

He walked down to the reception hall and tried to get to the entrance hall.

It seemed like someone spotted him in the reception hall but he didn't realise it.

When he was about to walk in the entrance hall, he saw that Gilbert was in the entrance hall.

Dimitri knew Gilbert would stop him so he decided to leave using the other way.

Through the stables..

He got outside, he thought he could hear someone following him but he stopped caring at this point.

It was really dark...

Then the footsteps behind him got louder and closer.

Dimitri then felt a bit tense and cautious but still tried to ignore it.

Then the one who was following him, went in front of him, blocking him from walking any forward.

Of all people it could have been...of course it had to be Byleth...

He then turned around to go find a different way but she went in front of him again to block him from potentially leaving the monastery.

It started to rain on them both. Dimitri flinched a bit from the movement due to his injuries but he ignored it.

Dimitri didn't want to bring her into this again. Not to mention, he almost accidentally injured her with his own weapon. "What do you want?"

Byleth got straight to the point. There was no time for normal chatter. "Where are you going?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"It does."

 ** _" K I L L "_** The voices got louder in his head.

Dimitri was losing patience now. "Get out of my way. Now."

"You're going to Enbarr, aren't you?"

Dimitri looked away, refusing to answer the question.

Byleth confronted him again. "Do you really think that will appease the dead?"

Dimitri crossed his arms. "Silence. You have no idea what you're talking about. Death is the end."

Dimitri then looks at her with an expression that felt heart wrenching to see. "No matter how much lingering regret a person has, after death, they are powerless. They cannot even wish for revenge, much less seek it out."

 ** _" K I L L "_** The voices got louder again...

He then looked angry. "Hatred. Regret. Those burdens fall on the shoulders of those who are left behind."

There was a small pause. Byleth didn't have the words to say. All she could at that moment was listen...

Dimitri continued. "And so I must continue down this path! I already told you as much! It is far too late to stop."

Byleth refuses to agree. "There must be another way."

Dimitri already knew what she was going to say next. Everyone says the same thing to him about the dead.

He was so sick of hearing it...

He confronted her about it before she could even say anything else. "Do not waste your breath with some nonsense about how I should move on with my life for their sake."

Dimitri uncrossed his arms. "That is merely the logic of the living. It's meaningless."

Byleth felt goosebumps after hearing that...

Dimitri faced towards the stables building. "Those who died with lingering regret... They will not loose their hold on me so easily."

Byleth wished they could...

Dimitri then tilted his head up...debating with his mind if he should ask her...

He then decided to do so. "But you have all the answers... So tell me, Professor. Please, tell me..."

Byleth's eyes widened after hearing Dimitri say that...

Dimitri was clearly heartbroken and scared. "How do I silence their desperate pleas? How do I... How do I save them?"

Not expecting an answer right away, Dimitri already spoke again. "Ever since that day nine years ago... I have lived only to avenge the fallen. Even my time at the Officers Academy was all so that I could secure my revenge and clear away the regret of the dead."

He hesitated to speak again but he knew he wanted to tell her so he did... "It was the only thing that kept me alive... My only reason to keep moving forward..."

He didn't look at her. He was too ashamed to look at her at all.

 _"I've been so horrible to her...I shouldn't even be asking this but...please...help...tell me..."_ He thought to himself, truly feeling regretful.

Byleth said something that he must know, and that she wanted him to know for so long. "You've suffered enough."

He slightly glimpsed at her. "Hmph."

He then faced her again with an uncertain look, the rain didn't make it any better either. "But then who -or what- should I live for?"

Byleth then closed her eyes and remembered what Sothis told her...

**_"Jeralt is gone but that doesn't mean your path is gone. Once you've found out what it is you believe in, live for it. Like what the prince said"_ **

Byleth felt like crying at the thought of Sothis but she wouldn't let herself...

So she gave Dimitri her answer. "Live for what you believe in."

Dimitri blinked at her. "What I believe in..."

Dimitri looked away in disbelief. "Rodrigue said the same thing. But is it possible... I am a murderous monster. My hands are stained red. Could one such as I truly hope for such a life? As the sole survivor of that day, do I... Do I have the right to live for myself?"

Byleth said nothing.

Instead she reached her hand out just like she promised she would always do...

Dimitri looked at it for a bit. He rejected it last time but...

Would it really hurt to accept the kindness now? Accept her kindness? Accept any of his friends' kindness?

He took a deep breath and gently grabbed her hand.

It felt...warm.

DImitri normally hated warmth and heat but...this was different.

He hated this cold darkness he's been forced to live in for too long...so he held on and accepted this new warm light even though he believes he doesn't deserve it.

The voices in his head quieted down or rather, he just couldn't hear them as well as before.

The light...

Dimitri commented on it. "Your hands are so warm... Have they always been?"

He then looked in her eyes. He saw the light in them.

It was a beautiful light.

He finally had a genuine smile on his face.

...Then Byleth had that feeling again.

That weird feeling in her heart. She always had that odd feeling whenever she was around Dimitri regardless of how he acts...

But this felt more extreme again...

She thought she felt her heart pound or something like that...

But... She wasn't sure...

Before she could do anything else, Dimitri then accidentally opened one of his wounds which caused him to slightly collapse forward but Byleth caught him.

"Dimitri!" Byleth was worried.

He huffed a bit. "I'm fine...just opened a wound again."

"You need to go back to the infirmary! Your injuries haven't healed yet!" Byleth said in a soft tone.

Dimitri frowned a bit. "I suppose so..."

"...Do you need any help in getting there..?"

Dimitri quickly shook his head. "No...I don't."

Dimitri then accidentally opened up another wound from shaking his head which was rather ironic. "Gah!"

Byleth sighed. "Ok you need help. Don't worry, where are you mainly injured?"

"Professor, you've already helped me enough.." Dimitri sighed. He felt guilty and pathetic for needing her to help him even now.

"Dimitri, seriously, don't say that. Let me help you get to the infirmary." Byleth insisted.

She helped him by putting his arm over her shoulder with her other arm over his other shoulder to hold him up and let him lean on her a bit so she can help him walk to the infirmary.

Byleth slightly flinched because his arm was unintentionally on the injured shoulder but she shrugged it off.

This was admittedly a bit awkward but now wasn't the time to care about that...

He was a bit- ok very heavy but Byleth tried to give it no attention. "Are you still hurt?"

"A bit...but that's not because of you." Dimitri sighed.

"Is it ok if I help you like this?"

"Yes...just..nghh."

"Ok hold on Dimitri..I'll help you get there in no time...just be careful.." Byleth tried to walk with him back to the Infirmary

...but it was a lot easier said than done.

It was late at night, raining, Byleth's shoulder was injured and they weren't that close to the infirmary.

When doing this though, Byleth realised how tall Dimitri was especially compared to her...it was kind of weird but it was even weirder that she only just noticed this now. She did quickly remove those thoughts from her mind though.

When they got to where the bottom of the stairs was that goes up to the second floor, Byleth sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"This might take a while..." Byleth mumbled to herself.

Byleth yawned a bit. She realised she still didn't get enough rest after over using divine pulse for the day.

She still tried to stay strong despite how tiring it was...

She helped Dimitri up the stairs, step by step which took a frustratingly long amount of time but they eventually did it.

Byleth then helped get him to the infirmary and it seemed Manuela wasn't there anymore which was strange because she was the one who told Byleth about Dimitri waking up in the first place.

Then Byleth remembered how late it was...

She then helped Dimitri get on the bed without trying to open up any more wounds while she was standing next to the bed on the side.

"Is everything ok now?" Byleth asked

Dimitri nodded. "Thank you for helping me out there."

Byleth smiled at him while she was still holding his hand. "It's not a problem Dimitri."

Byleth sighed and was prepared to leave so she could get out of his way. "Well, I assume you must want some sle-"

"No! Wait!" Dimitri kept holding her hand tightly without intending to do so.

Byleth then looked back at him.

"I know...this is rather pathetic to ask but...could you please...um....stay with me a bit longer..? I..um...don't want to be alone at the moment...I'm sorry..." Dimitri asked as he was leaning on his bed with his head on the pillow.

Byleth didn't expect him to ask that but she smiled and nodded. "Of course. I don't mind doing so. Just let me grab a chair."

Byleth let go of Dimitri's hand for a moment to go and get a chair to sit down on.

She then placed the chair next to the side of the bed and sat on it.

Dimitri looked a bit embarrassed. "Um...I'm sorry to ask something of you again Professor..."

Byleth looked at him again.

"Is it ok...if um..." Dimitri felt really embarrassed to ask her.

He sighed and tried to ask again. "I know this is silly but... but I... could you...please hold my hand again? If you.. well you know...if you don't mind...? Uh..."

Byleth slightly chuckled and nodded.

She reached for his hand and held his.

"Thank you...um sorry if-"

Byleth chuckled. "It's ok Dimitri..Really.."

.....

"Professor?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry for everything..."

Byleth stayed silent while she let Dimitri continue to speak as he teared up. "I was so horrible to everyone and you too... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for telling you to go away, I'm sorry for any horrible lies I said to you, I'm sorry for everything that happened today..and since we reunited.... I'm sorry..I'm so sorry. I know I don't deserve forgiveness from any of you but I..I just wanted you to know that.." Dimitri teared up.

Byleth could see the truth in his eyes. While she knew that he had to atone all on his own for what he had done but she could tell that he was truly regretting for what he had done. 

Byleth nodded. "Hey, hey. Dimitri...I'll admit, I'm not sure if everyone else will forgive you for everything you've done and I'm admittedly still upset about these past few events that occurred but...if it helps...I forgive you for some of what you have done and I believe that you can atone for everything you've done.... All everyone asks of you now is for you to do what YOU truly believe is the right thing to do and not what the dead wants you to do... To follow your heart and live for what you believe in out of your own true will. We all ask of you to show these in your actions too. We are all your friends Dimitri and we will support you to go to the right direction."

"But I still mean what I said before you know... I'll always be by your side and be here if you need me...and I have no doubt that all of us here will do the same." Byleth smiled at him.

That beautiful, genuine smile of hers always makes him feel happy and have his heart race every single time...

Dimitri smiled back. _He really did feel lucky to have her by his side._

He closed his eyes. "Thank You Professor..."

"You don't need to thank me Dimitri..." Byleth shook her head.

He tilted his head to the side of his pillow as he kept his eyes closed. "I do... Thank you Professor I.... I hope you know you mean a lot to me.... You always have meant a lot to me and that has never changed and I know it never will change..."

Dimitri knew that the effects of that tragedy will never stop. His trauma will continue to live with him along with the demonic voices. He knew it will never last and that he will forever be traumatised...

But he knew that he had Byleth and his friends to be by his side and support him him even when he is feeling his worst...and he won't hesitate to do the same for them.

He then fell asleep by accident right there and then even though he was still holding Byleth's hand.

Byleth didn't respond because she realised something after he said that...

...She had that feeling in her chest again but it wasn't the same.

It was extreme like earlier but...it was weird...

Now that she thinks about it...she's felt these types of feelings in her heart many times before...

The first time she had this weird, extreme feeling was when she first met Dimitri, five years ago...

Then the second time was when he told her that her smile was mesmerising and then the third time after the battle of the eagle and lion...just felt more impactful somehow.

Then it happened again when she danced with him during the ball but that was even more extreme and for some reason she felt a mix of happiness and nervousness with it.

Then once again the day after the ball, when he comforted her when she was crying over Jeralt... However it was different to normal.. It was a mix of pain & heartbreak but also the feeling of never being alone.

She never felt the extreme feeling in her heart again until...she saw Dimitri for the first time after five years. It was extreme but it wasn't the same as before. It was more of sorrow, guilt and pain of seeing him in pain. But also relief in knowing that he is still alive..

And now She hadn't had that feeling in her heart for a while until she found him on the third floor, alone in the dark just only a few days ago. It was the exact same but it was even more extreme and impactful...

Then she felt the chest heart feeling again after she reached for his hand earlier today.

Now she was feeling that again less than an hour later but it was feeling even more extreme. It felt like a mix of the one she had when she danced with him at the ball and the feeling she had earlier when she reached for his hand...

It gave her... such warm and amazing happiness. It made her feel flustered and he is for some reason the last person she wants to lose in her life despite having no favourites...

She didn't understand this feeling at all... Not to mention..She shouldn't even have a feeling like this at all considering her lack of a heart beat...

She wasn't understanding why Dimitri was the only one she felt this way towards nor did she know what the feeling was.

It just made no sense to her at all...

But one thing for sure was... This feeling.... **She now knows that she loves this feeling...**

It made her feel like she was truly alive...

Like maybe she is a human being after all...

And since this feeling only occurs with Dimitri alone...

She smiled and blushed happily at the thought for some reason. She had no idea why she did but she just.. did.

Then she yawned and stretched her other arm. She felt her eyelids get heavy too. She now snapped out of the thoughts and remembered that she was still in the infirmary with Dimitri.

She decided to think about those odd heart feelings in the morning, she was too exhausted to make any sense of it now...

She then glanced at Dimitri to see how he was but...

It seemed like he fell asleep.

Byleth tried to check if he did fall asleep. "Dimitri?"

He didn't respond, he was definitely asleep.

Byleth felt her eyelids get even heavier. She felt too tired to stand up and leave the room at the moment.

Byleth yawned a bit. "Maybe I should leave in a minute...I just need to...close my eyes for just a second..."

So she did, she leaned on the chair and like Dimitri, accidentally fell asleep but only on her chair.

Though despite falling asleep, she was accidentally still holding his hand while doing so...

\-----


	89. The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 5/5: "It's Over..."

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place the morning after the events of "The Tragedy Of Gronder Part 4: Live for what you believe in" part. Do not read any further if you haven't read that. Also part won't make much sense if you haven't read "What's the Matter Lion?" part, "Voice" part and "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part.

\-----

_Dimitri's eyes fluttered open again...but he wasn't in the infirmary this time..._

He was lying on the ground somewhere.

He stood up and looked around.

It was sunny and he was on some type of grassy field.

Kind of like that...dream from the other day..

"No...I don't want to dream that again..." Dimitri panicked...

He can see a person in the shade up ahead but cannot identify due to how dark it is over there.

He felt scared...

He yelled at the person, assuming it was another ghost. "S-stay away! I won't let you control me anymore..."

The person was walking closer and closer which made Dimitri panic.

He walked backwards out of fear. "Go away! I will not go back to the darkness! I refuse to allow you to control me again!"

The person had an echoey voice. _**"𝕎𝕙𝕪'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥.....𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕.....?"**_

Dimitri's heart started beating so fast that it terrified him.

However....He knew he cannot allow himself to be scared...

Rodrigue and Byleth's words replayed in his mind and regained his confidence.

He walked forwards toward the person and confronted them. "Because my life belongs to me and only me! I...I will not let myself act foolish anymore! I... I want to be alive again! To truly live again! Live for what I believe in!"

The shadow suddenly stopped walking towards Dimitri and then stood still.

...Then the sun shined over them.

Dimitri then could see who it was.

It was his younger self's ghost.

But...it was different this time..

The ghost was smiling at him and was tearing up with tears of joy...

Not in a taunting or scary type of way though...in a genuinely happy way.

"Why are you here again?" Dimitri didn't know what to think.

The ghost of his 13 year old self just stared at him, there was a glow of humanity in his eyes.

Then it hit Dimitri...

This ghost isn't a ghost...he's still alive...

Just Dimitri refused to allow it to stay alive ever since he swore revenge...

_"Do you understand now..? I'm still alive, I will not let you kill me because that's impossible..."_

Dimitri just stared at him. He had no words..

The ghost walked closer to Dimitri until it was directly in front of him...

Dimitri didn't move back...he let it look at him...

The ghost reached for Dimitri's hand like Byleth did.

Dimitri teared up seeing this...

He realised that he had forced himself to live in the darkness...the reason he had been haunted by this child ghost was because the ghost knew the darkness wasn't what Dimitri wanted to live in...

Dimitri bent down and grabbed the kid's hand...

The sun beamed on them both and the breeze felt rather warm...

It felt nice...

He knew something now...while it will take maybe an eternity but...

He now knew...

_It's Over._

_"...Thank Rodrigue, Her and our friends for being by your- ...no...thank them all for guiding us away from our fated doom... Now you understand, right? You must remember those words and follow your heart... Live for what you believe in... Take true responsibilities for your actions and atone for what've you done to the living... I may never see you again for some time but if you lose sight of your path..._ 𝕀 **𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝** 𝕙𝕒𝕦𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟..." The child warned Dimitri.

Dimitri knew who the "ghost" was talking about...

_Who he needs to thank..._

_"Remember...what she said. Live for what you believe in... Let us live for that please... Don't run away anymore..."_ The child begged.

The child then had a bright sunlight behind him but he continued to talk. _"Please don't lose sight of who you truly are... Not only for everyone's sake... but for your own too. Let yourself live and be who you always were on the inside..."_

He nodded...and then his vision started to fade..

\-----

Dimitri's eyes fluttered open...

It was just a dream but...

_That was the most calm he has ever been when waking up..._

_The most calm since the tragedy..._

He took a deep sigh in relief...

He then felt something warm holding on to his hand..

He looked to the side and saw Byleth, peacefully asleep on the chair she's sitting on.

Her hair was rather messy and it was all over her face...

Dimitri then realised something and mumbled to himself. "Has she...been with me this whole time..?"

He looked down at his hand and saw that it's still holding hers...

Dimitri didn't really know how early it was at all but the sun was rather bright this morning..

The voices in his head were still yelling at him but he ignored it...

After all...He now knows that he isn't alone.

.....

He did feel rather guilty that Byleth was still here...

He wasn't sure if he should wake her up...he didn't want to disturb her rest but he felt guilty that she stayed here this whole time...

He wasn't sure what to do...

He took a deep sigh... "What am I going to do...?"

He then looked at her again.

"Thank you..." He teared up a bit in a grateful way.

_He can finally start truly living now..._

.....

Barely after Dimitri said that, Byleth did a yawn as her eyes started to flutter open.

"Ngh..." Byleth sighed, not really awake.

Byleth used her other hand to wipe her eyes to see more clearly and then slightly opened her eyes a bit to see.

She then realised where she was and that she had been asleep on the chair.

Her eyes widened and she moved her head to get rid of the hair in her face.

Then she remembered...

"Oh! Dimitri! ...Did I fall asleep here last night?" She asked in sudden realisation.

He nodded a bit. "It seems like it."

"Ah..Sorry about that..I guess I was still exhausted from earlier that day..." Byleth yawned. She was surprisingly calm about this.

Then she gave it more thought...

"Oh...Oh! Er...Sorry.. I didn't mean to fall asleep here.." Byleth apologised.

Dimitri shook his head. "It's fine. I'm sorry for making you stay here around that time of the day..."

Byleth brushed it off. "You didn't make me, I chose to comfort you. I must've accidentally fallen asleep though after you did. Anyways, how are your injuries?"

"Admittedly a bit sore..but I think I can manage."

Byleth frowned. Dimitri might be telling the truth but she was still worried. "I think you should rest here for a bit longer..."

Dimitri shook his head. "I appreciate your concern but please do not worry Professor. I'm not in pain nearly as much as before..."

"Then...are your-"

Byleth cut herself off and then went silent. She seemed hesitant.

Dimitri noticed. "Hmm?"

"It's nothing."

"You were about to ask about those voices weren't you..." Dimitri asked.

Byleth opened her mouth to deny it but she couldn't...because what Dimitri said was true... She was going to ask him that.

Dimitri smiled at her and how much she cared. "It's ok..I don't mind if you ask. I can still hear the voices but they aren't loud as usual right now."

"Are they...troubling you right now?"

"No...They're not."

Before Byleth could respond, someone walked in the room.

"Your Highne- Oh Professor? ...My apologies did I interrupt anything?"

It was Dedue.

Dimitri shook his head. "Not exactly, no. Was there something you needed, Dedue?"

"I was about to check on your injuries...and I was going to ask if you knew where the Professor was but I see I do not need to ask that anymore."

Dedue shook his head. "Well, Your Highness, are your injuries still bad?"

Dimitri looked a bit pale but shook his head. "Nowhere near as bad as before."

Byleth and Dedue stared at him, not entirely believing him.

"Your Highness, you should stay here and rest for a bit longer.. I believe you may need it. Professor, I was looking for you because we have a meeting. We will need you to be present." Dedue added.

Byleth nodded and glanced back at Dimitri. "Dimitri, will you be able to manage on your own?"

Dimitri shook his head but not at Byleth's question. "May I join the meeti-"

Dedue quickly cut him off. "No Your Highness. You must rest and try to heal your wounds."

Dimitri threw out a sigh in defeat. "...Alright."

"Will you be able to manage being on your own...?" Byleth asked again.

He nodded.

"Don't worry, We'll be back shortly, Your Highness." Dedue reassured him.

He then glanced back at Byleth. "Professor, shall we?"

Byleth nodded and let go of Dimitri's hand. She felt guilty to do that but she knew she had no choice.

She and Dedue finally left the room but Dimitri could still hear them.

"Dedue, where is the meeting?"

"It's in the meeting room, the same as always.. **Unfortunately though, we aren't sure what the next course of action is at this moment due to the loss of Lord Rodrigue.** " Dedue added.

Byleth sighed. "I'm...sure we can figure something out."

"I hope you're right." Dedue looked down slightly.

Dimitri was shocked to hear that...

He knew he couldn't stay here...

He needed to go...

Go to the meeting room and set things straight...

Atone...

\-----

The meeting started when Byleth & Dedue finally arrived in the room.

The ones who were present were Byleth, Dedue, Gilbert, Seteth, Annette, Felix, Mercedes, Ingrid, Sylvain & Ashe. The main original blue lion students...

Everyone was about to ask about Byleth's injuries and rest but Gilbert spoke before they could do so.

"Our victory at Gronder was certainly a turning point for us." Gilbert said.

Byleth started to feel sad remembering that again and certain actions she made...

Just only if she didn't overuse Divine Pulse...

If she didn't, Leonie, Lysithea, Ignatz and many other Alliance soldiers would still be living now but they aren't...

Gilbert then sighed and looked down in shame. "However... Rodrigue's death has been difficult to bear. We've lost considerable military strength and resources."

Felix crossed his arms and mumbled angrily to himself but no one could hear him.

Though...they can guess what he may be mumbling about...

Byleth tried to think of an alternative quickly. "Is there no way to secure more soldiers?"

Gilbert thought about what she said and eventually said something. "If we split up the soldiers currently defending the monastery, we should have sufficient numbers to invade the Empire. But even then..."

He frowned at the chances. If they do that then their chances of succeeding would be incredibly low and even if they do succeed then less than ten people in the Kingdom army would survive the outcomes and Dimitri most likely wouldn't be one of them.

He sighed heavily. It seemed like the only option since Dimitri doesn't want to take back Fhirdiad.

However, someone walked in the room.

Everyone's attention shifted on whoever it was that walked in.

It was Dimitri.

Byleth frowned at seeing him here since he isn't meant to be out of the infirmary at the moment...

Dedue seemed to have had the same thoughts but unlike Byleth, he confronted Dimitri about it. "Your Highness! You should be resting. Your wounds are still healing..."

Dimitri brushed it off and shook his head. "I am well, I assure you. More importantly...may I have a moment of your time?"

He looked at Byleth for permission to do so.

Byleth did hesitate because she was worried about his injuries but...it seemed like...she needed to let him say whatever it was he wanted to say...

Byleth nodded.

Dimitri seemed relieved and grateful. "Thank you."

He then looked at everyone else, they were staring at him. He wished that there were more people here, for example - Caspar, Dorothea and that sort, because he needed to apologise to them too - but there wasn't any other choice other than just doing it now.

.....

He took a deep breath...

He thought to himself. _"I may not deserve forgiveness but...I cannot hold back..."_

He then closed his eye and opened it again.

Then everyone saw it.

The prince and friend they all once knew...he was still there...he was always still there...

That he wasn't dead just...hidden...

He just finally allowed himself to live again...

He finally said something. "I wish to apologize. To all of you. I have led you down this dark path with me, and have caused so much suffering along the way..."

He looked down because he was too ashamed to look at anyone. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am for my behaviour. There is no apology I could offer that would be sufficient."

Felix was the first to comment which made sense even though he did feel like Dimitri might be sincere. "Hmph. And how do you intend to make up for my father's death?"

Dimitri looked back up at Felix, accepting Felix's anger towards him. "Felix... I realize words alone are not enough to repent, but I fear they are all I have."

Felix didn't want to accept that. "I'm not after more empty words. I want you to speak through your actions."

"I know that no amount of regret can ever bring back the lives we have lost. I... I know that well. It is like patching up a tear with a different material. Things can never be as they were. The best I can hope for is to make things whole again."

No one said anything to that...

Dimitri spoke again and looked back at everyone. "I wish to do the right thing from now on. That is why I have made the decision..."

He paused slightly before getting the words out. "I intend to take back the Kingdom capital. I wish to save our people, those who I turned my back on for far too long."

Everyone was shocked by this but Dimitri continued regardless. "To follow my heart and do the right thing... That is the only way I can atone for my sins."

.....

It took everyone some time to process that...

Gilbert was shocked...but so pleased to hear what Dimitri had said. "Your Highness... If we win back Fhirdiad, it will give us the advantage in our war against the Empire. As one who has served the royal family for ages, know that your words give me great joy. And pride."

He said that with a smile but it quickly fell when he realised the consequence of doing that and how Dimitri most likely wouldn't be pleased with it. "That said, I must point out that if we make for Fhirdiad, the emperor's head will slip further out of reach. Can you live with that?"

Dimitri frowned at the mention of Edelgard. "I still hold hatred in my heart for her and the ones responsible for the tragedy... That, I will carry with me until death."

But he shrugged it off and raised his voice. "But...my life is my own. It belongs to no one else, and it is high time that I started living for what I believe in. I will no longer allow the voices of the dead to bind me. This is something I must do... No. Something I am choosing to do. I will accomplish my aim, even if it means risking my life to do so."

Gilbert felt so pleased but he kept his composure. He looked at everyone else to see if they had anything to say. "Understood, Your Highness. So? Any objections?"

No one said anything. They wanted to do this too.

All of them...believed in him. They believe his decisions are something he wants to do and are the right thing...

Some of them already are happy to forgive him such as Mercedes, Ashe etc while others are a bit more uncertain such as Felix etc...but regardless... One thing for sure is that they plan to follow this path and decision he has now created.

Byleth then finally spoke for everyone. "None."

Seteth nodded. "You are correct. We cannot afford to die in vain by recklessly challenging the Empire."

Mercedes frowned a bit but she agreed. "I'm worried about Lady Rhea...but if this is the choice you've made, I support it."

Byleth tried not to frown at the mention of Rhea.

Dedue then said something. "I am at your command, Your Highness. I will follow you anywhere."

Ashe believed in Dimitri and believed in this decision. "My sword is at your service, Your Highness."

Annette smiled. "I'll help too! The people in Fhirdiad need us!"

Felix finally spoke after a while. "Fine. I'll help you...in my father's stead."

He then shot Dimitri a look. "But in return, you must win. You know that, don't you...Dimitri?"

.....

That was probably the first time Byleth and a few others have heard Felix call Dimitri by his first name.

Even Felix believed in Dimitri despite the argument from a while ago...

Dimitri nodded and looked at Felix. He made a promise to him. "I do. And I swear on my father's lance that we will prevail."

Gilbert nodded. "Then it is decided. It seems this war council has much to discuss."

Though Gilbert and Byleth sent out some of the war council to bring everyone else like Caspar, Dorothea, Marianne etc to help them discuss.

Dimitri had no objections to that, not to mention he owed them a ton of apologies after his behaviour towards them all...

.....

Dimitri felt...happy.

This decision... he didn't realise how much he wanted to make it.

And he never realised... how much he wanted to leave the shadows to live in the light again...

Rodrigue is to thank for that....

And her too...

 _"Thank you Professor...I'm glad I fell in love with you."_ He thought to himself.

_He finally could start living again..._

\-----


	90. Dear Diary

\-----

Pre timeskip, takes place before chapter 3 and takes place after chapter 2. Takes place on the twenty second of Garland Moon/Edelgard's Birthday.

\-----

_Byleth was wandering around in the monastery, looking for a certain someone._

She was holding a present too so she could give it to them.

But she eventually spotted Edelgard and walked up to her.

"Hello Edelgard."

Edelgard seemed a bit startled but she turned around and stared at Byleth.

"Hm? Professor?"

Without warning, Byleth put her present right in front of Edelgard's face as if it was the most normal thing to do. "Happy Birthday Edelgard."

"Professor? You knew about my birthday?" Edelgard wasn't entirely sure what to think about that.

"Yes. I got you a present." Byleth

Edelgard eyed Byleth's wrapped up present. It looked like it was shaped like some book.

Edelgard frowned and stared at the present.

She wasn't sure how to feel about Byleth's odd forwardness too.

She then looked back up at the dead panned teacher.

"Why would you give me a present? You chose Dimitri's house over mine. Grave mistake I might add but still...Why do you..?" Edelgard said.

"There wasn't a rule about not giving presents to people who aren't in the same house as you so I don't see a reason not to." Byleth said with no emotion whatsoever.

Edelgard puckered her lips irritably, unable to read Byleth's intentions or even tell if she had any whatsoever.

So she made an assumption instead. "I have no interest in leaving my class. Do not bribe me."

"I'm not bribing you. I just like giving people presents." Byleth shook her head.

Edelgard frowned, Byleth seemed to be telling the truth but it was still very off.

She sighed to herself and felt ridiculous. Byleth was just giving her a present just to be nice, there wasn't much of a reason to be on guard like this...

Edelgard finally spoke after what felt like a very long time. "Well, I do appreciate this. Thank you."

"Can you please unwrap the present?" Byleth cut straight to the point.

"Oh um right."

She unwraps the oddly well wrapped shaped present.

When she successfully does so, she realises that she was correct about it being a book but it seemed like a diary.

"Is this a diary?" Edelgard looked back up at Byleth

"Uh huh. You write things in it."

"I...I assumed as much yes." Edelgard sighed at her pointing out the obvious.

It was silent for a bit.

Edelgard frowned at the gift. It wasn't that she didn't like it, it's that she just didn't really use diaries because she never knew what to write.

People would tell her **_"You can write anything really"_** but it doesn't really help her know what to write.

Byleth noticed Edelgard frowning at the present. "Do you not like it?"

Edelgard shook her head. "N-no! I do. I just...Professor, what do you write in diaries?"

Byleth paused a bit as she struggled to say an answer. "Well I don't have a diary but my father does. Sometimes, he feels more relieved after he's written his troubles and wishes in his diary. That's why I got it for you."

Edelgard's frown deepened slightly, felt slightly on guard. "Hm?"

"I've been told you have been a bit down as of lately and I can see how stressed out you've been. I didn't really like seeing you so upset so I wanted to give you something that could help because you don't seem to talk to me very often."

Edelgard felt slightly relieved but she didn't really expect that answer from her. "So you were worried for me? Why?"

"Do I need a reason why? I care about you just like I care about everyone else."

Edelgard said nothing again

"Huh...You're more interesting than I thought..." Edelgard said out loud.

"How so?"

Edelgard shook her head. "Oh don't mind me. I appreciate your concern my teacher but I assure you I'm fine. I've just haven't been sleeping lately."

Byleth wasn't really sure if she believed Edelgard for that. "Then get rest. And if you feel upset, maybe try to write out your troubles. Treat the diary as a friend by writing 'Dear Diary' at the beginning then write what's on your mind. After you wrote, you might feel happy."

"I highly doubt it but thank you for the present regardless. Still, giving someone a diary doesn't remove stress for most."

Byleth tilted her head down slightly. "I wasn't aware of that."

"You don't seem to be aware of that much are you? But, hearing you worry about me... It's quite unexpected. I cannot help but ask this again, are you sure you'd rather join the Blue Lions over the Black Eagles? There still may be a way to change your mind and I do believe you would be much more fitting in teaching us." Edelgard eyes slightly lit up.

Byleth quickly shook her head. "No, I don't plan on changing houses ever."

Edelgard frowned, disappointed that she couldn't convince Byleth. "Pity... Well then, I wish you the best of luck, my teacher."

Before Byleth had the chance to respond, Edelgard already turned around and walked away.

Edelgard slightly glimpsed back at the diary in her hands every now and then.

Byleth didn't really know what to think of that. She wondered if giving Edelgard a diary was a good idea after all...

"Professor?"

Byleth turned around.

It was Dimitri, he walked up towards her.

Her expression didn't even change when she greeted him. "Hello Dimitri. I was just giving Edelgard her birthday present."

Dimitri didn't really expect for her to say that. "A birthday present hm? What did you give her?"

"A diary." Byleth said.

"A...diary?" Dimitri bit his lip.

Byleth nodded. "Uh huh. You write things in a diary."

A frown suddenly appeared on Dimitri's lips when Byleth pointed out the obvious. "Um. Yes you do..."

He shook his head. "But uh.... Professor, I don't mean to be nosy but why did you give her a diary?" Dimitri asked. 

"Because today is her birthday."

Dimitri facepalmed at himself for not wording his question better. "Well I know that but that's not what I meant. I mean why did you choose a diary?"

Byleth then understood more on what he meant. "Ah. Well, I noticed she seemed a bit down lately so I gave her a diary and told her that she could write down her troubles and thoughts. My father sometimes did that. Though, Edelgard told me that she doubted that something like that could relieve her from stress."

Dimitri rested his chin on hand, he admittedly agreed with Edelgard on that. Troubles and thoughts don't go away so easily like that. He knew that more than anyone.

But he did understand what Byleth was going for so Dimitri tried to ease her a bit. "She may not be wrong but I'm sure she was grateful for the present and for your concern."

"Hm. Well I'll take your word for it. I do still hope that it does have some use to her someday." Byleth sighed.

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know this is really, really short and it's not even post timeskip. I know I owe you all a bigger and better chapter but I wanted to do this chapter to be the first one I publish after gronder field even if it's pre timeskip because it is ridiculously important later and feel free to theorise why it is heh heh...
> 
> Anywho, I know this chapter doesn't have that much fluff and is more of a plot relevant one but I still feel as if this chapter should be the first one I publish after the gronder field arc then some more post timeskip parts. Feel free to leave feedback (just please try to not be too harsh) Anyways I love you all and thanks for reading! :D


	91. Forgiveness and Truth

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter seventeen and takes place before chapter eighteen. Takes place on the third of Harpstring Moon. References "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part and "In The Dark" part.

\-----

_After waking up very early and unable to go back to sleep, Byleth went up to the goddess tower to kill some time._

When she was there, she gazed at the bright blue sky and the sun shining on her face.

It was... a nice feeling.

But it didn't last long because her own thoughts consumed her.

She couldn't stop thinking about the future and the past at the same time.

About who she's killed and what she's done in battle.

And who she may have to face next...

She threw out a long sigh.

"My friend.. What are you doing here at this time in the morning?"

Byleth turned around when she heard that sincere and deep voice.

It was Dimitri.

"Could be asking you the same thing." Byleth responded.

Dimitri chuckled a bit under his breath. "I woke up early by accident and was simply curious as to what the goddess tower would be like in the early morning."

Dimitri shook his head. "Professor, may I join you or would you rather be on your own?"

Byleth blinked at him a bit before she answered. "Feel free to join me Dimitri."

"Thank you." Dimitri gave her a smile as he nodded.

He walked next to where she was standing and gazed upwards at the sky just like she had returned to doing.

...

It was silent for a bit.

Byleth broke the silence by starting a conversation. "How has it been with the others?"

Dimitri opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn't know how to word his answer.

He eventually found words to say. "Many of them are still rightfully upset with me. The only ones who seem to have forgiven me are Petra, Hilda, Marianne, Mercedes, Catherine, Ashe and Caspar."

Dimitri's head tilted down. "I... I honestly do not blame them for not forgiving me, what I have done is inexcusable. I wouldn't have forgiven myself either. My behaviour towards them all...was absolutely revolting and unforgivable."

Byleth stayed silent, not really sure what she should say.

"But Professor... My behaviour towards you... was perhaps the worst of all. I am absolutely disgusted with myself with how I treated you, talked to you... I.. I have to say, that is one of the things I regret the most, if not the most regretful thing I have ever done. Treating you like that, talking to you like that, what I said to you... It was monstrous of me...I am sorry."

Byleth stared at him and didn't really know how to respond to that. "Dimitri..."

Dimitri sighed. "I.. I apologise for this but I must tell you about something that happened when you were not around."

"When I wasn't around?" Byleth asked.

"I had an argument with many of our classmates back in Lone Moon. I said things... That I shouldn't have said nor did I mean. Said terrible things to them about everyone. I said that I..."

Dimitri really felt guilty, he didn't want to finish his sentence. He was too mortified to potentially hurt Byleth at all but he knew he couldn't let himself keep her in the dark on what happened.

He knew he had to be the one to tell her.

Byleth looked at him with a calm expression. "It's ok Dimitri. What happened?"

"I... Professor I said such awful and false things about you that I didn't mean at all. I said I couldn't care less if you died and the war would've been over if it weren't for you... I blamed you for getting injured and even said that you didn't do much to benefit all of us... I called the rest of our classmates worthless idiots and even threatened Felix with my own weapon when he brought up... Glenn. I said such horrible things that I don't mean nor will I ever mean them.. It's despicable and I am ashamed. I don't want to excuse myself because the voices directing me were in my own head."

Byleth was shocked but now everything made sense. That was why everyone was so angry with him on the mission after...

That argument was what caused damage to their connection.

Dimitri finally looked back at Byleth. "None of the rotten things I said to you, or about you or anyone was true. It never was and it never will be. I care for you all so deeply...especially for you Professor. I am, so sorry for everything..."

Dimitri continued to speak. "But I must ask, after hearing about what this argument or anything else I've done... Professor, I want you to be completely honest with me. Do you really forgive me? Forgive everything I've done?"

Byleth bit her lip, she didn't want to lie.

In all truthfulness, she wasn't entirely over some of what he had done. Forgiving a person isn't as easy as she wishes it could be.

Everything she said to Dimitri two days ago wasn't false since she did forgive him some of what he's done.

But not everything.

Byleth finally spoke up and gave Dimitri a look. "...I'll admit it, Dimitri. I haven't forgiven you for the way you've treated us all at times, some of the things you've said, actions or wrongdoings you've done and the vicious kills you've done on people in battle. It stung a bit to hear what you said about me in that argument too."

Dimitri dropped his head down a bit, he wasn't surprised to hear that.

But Byleth wasn't finished. She needed Dimitri to know this. "But I believe in you Dimitri. I believe you can atone for your wrongdoings and I will always care about you. That hasn't changed. I believe you can atone for what you've done and live for what you believe in. I have total confidence that you can show that through not just your words, but your actions too."

He teared up a bit hearing that. "I... Thank you Professor. I promise I will atone."

Byleth hated to point this out but she knew she had to. "That being said Dimitri. Please keep in mind it won't be easy. You can't expect life to suddenly be exactly like the academy days right now even if we succeed in Fhirdhiad."

"Yes I know."

"And Dimitri, you must know that I can't help you atone because that's something you must do on your own."

"Yes, I understand that. I promise to follow my own will from now on. Not the dead but my own."

Byleth smiled at that response. "I'm glad. I'll be looking forward to that Dimitri."

"And about what happened in Gronder Field... Professor I-"

"Mistook me as a ghost? Was that what happened with the whole dagger thing?" Byleth guessed.

Dimitri was speechless. "How...did-?"

"It was obvious. Don't worry, I told you that I forgave you for that and I understand. I knew the whole time. It's water under the bridge for that scenario."

"How could you forgive me so easily for that...I..." Dimitri stopped himself.

"Because you weren't trying to kill me specifically, you mistook me as a ghost. Like I said...it was...kind of obvious. I challenged you to begin with so don't get mad at yourself about that part ok?"

Dimitri still felt guilty, it didn't feel right. "Even so, Professor what I did was horrible. I am so, so sorry."

"It's fine." Byleth nodded. 

She put her hand on his hand and spoke softly. "Dimitri, It's ok. I've forgiven you for it so please don't worry about it anymore, ok?"

She gave him a heartwarming smile to reassure him.

Dimitri was taken aback from that smile and looked away. "Professor, can I please just say this?"

"Yes?"

"Professor... I hope you're aware of the fact that you mean so much to me and I care about you.. It wasn't hard to fall for-"

Dimitri interrupted himself as he was about to confess his feelings.

Byleth blinked, not knowing what he was about to say.

He thought to himself about the fact he almost confessed his feelings to her right there.

He felt so mad at himself for almost letting that slip.

He did want to tell her but now...he doesn't feel like he had the right to nor did the time feel right.

He shook his head and rephrased his sentence. "I mean to say... I care about you and thank you for being by my side."

"It's ok Dimitri, don't forget that I care about you too and if you have concerns and troubles, then don't hesitate to tell me." Byleth smiled at him.

Dimitri looked at her smile and felt relieved.

But then...he realised something.

And so he couldn't help but speak about it.

"What about you Professor?"

"What about me?"

"I'm sure you have concerns and troubles of your own."

Byleth's smile immediately vanished. "...That's not something you should concern yourself over."

Dimitri blinked at her when she responded like that.

He saw something in her eyes.

It was... something he knew so well.

That something was filled with fear and anxiety...

A bit of grief too...

Dimitri was really worried now. "Professor... Are you ok?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Byleth mumbled.

"No you aren't, are you? You seem scared. What's wrong? Did something happen? Did... I do something?" He felt a bit tense when he asked that last question.

"No nothing happened and you didn't do anything Dimitri. I assure you It's nothing Dimitri." Byleth started to get a bit angry.

Dimitri felt guilty for asking that but he knew he couldn't let herself be upset over whatever it was she was upset about. "Professor I don't mean to barge in but please... if there's something you're scared or worried about, please don't hesitate."

Byleth nodded. "Thanks for the concern but I assure you it's nothing. The only fears I mainly have is not knowing what will happen in battle for the future."

Though that wasn't entirely true - yes she was worried about that but she was also worried about what everyone would think of her if they knew about her lack of heartbeat.

She has no doubt that they all probably wouldn't care about her anymore if they found out the truth...

Dimitri bit his lip. "I... I apologise, that must be difficult and stressful to deal with. Are you worried about what will happen to us all?"

"Yes. I don't underestimate any of you, but all of your lives are in my hands and one screw up could lead to a disaster. Though Dimitri, I want you to promise me to not let yourself get killed out there, ok?" Byleth looked at him with a slightly intense look in her eyes.

Dimitri nodded. "I promise as long as you promise the same. If I lost you I'd..."

Byleth saw how concerned he was for her which made her smile. She put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I promise I won't die."

Dimitri looked back at her and saw her smiling kindly at him to reassure him. It caught him off guard slightly.

Byleth then took a step back and put her hand off his shoulder. She let out a tiny chuckle. "Well anyways, enough of this talk and let's both drop the subject of dying! ..Oh I know! Would you like to have a tea party with me for a short while this morning?"

Dimitri stared at her at this...somewhat random suggestion. "A... tea party?"

"Annette and Mercedes had a tea party with me for a while and it's actually really relaxing if I'm being quite honest. Maybe we could do it outside of the dining hall or my room. A tea party is mainly just two friends relaxing and having tea after all. I do believe it would be nice to have a small relax for a bit." Byleth said rather enthusiastically.

"Are you sure I have the right to-"

"Yes, of course you do. Well, Dimitri would you like to have a tea party for a small while?" Byleth asked.

Dimitri scratched his head a bit when trying to answer this question but he eventually nodded. "That doesn't exactly sound too bad."

A smile grew on Byleth's face. "Nice! Well, let's head then, shall we?"

Dimitri nodded as he followed Byleth from behind.

_"Thank you Professor..."_

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There's a chance that I might edit this chapter later but nonetheless I hope you enjoyed it! Though this will be the last chapter published for a while on both sites because I have finally caught up to date where my fanfic currently is at on the other site so updates will never be that frequent on ao3 ever again. Update won't happen until a few weeks or so but I hope you enjoyed these chapters! Please leave some feedback, I'd really appreciate it! :)


	92. Suspenseful Shopping

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Post timeskip, takes place after chapter seventeen and takes place before chapter eighteen. Takes place on the seventh of Harpstring Moon. Takes place after (and references) the "Forgiveness and Truth" part. References "The Argument In The Lions' Den" part, "Washing Dishes" part and Gronder Field arc. After the A support between Dimitri and Felix. References Ashe and Petra's C Support and references Felix and Annette's A support. References Dimitri and Sylvain's support

\-----

_It was late in the afternoon and the quartet Byleth, Petra, Sylvain and Felix were about to leave the monastery to go to the marketplace._

They all had their hoods over their heads in order to disguise themselves when they arrived at the marketplace. Perta wanted them to wear the hoods in case anyone from the opposing armies might potentially recognise them.

They all made it to the entrance hall and Sylvain was a bit dumbfounded by the idea of going to a different marketplace than the one they'd normally go to for supplies.

"So...Petra, why exactly are we going to a different marketplace? It's...much further away." Sylvain frowned.

Petra turned towards Sylvain. "Well this is including many more variety of things to buy for others. The current marketplace we would go to normally has more battle related items opposed to the marketplace that has gifts and crops. Oh and the rude pink haired merchant isn't in the other marketplace."

"The rude pin-"

"Ow!"

Felix fell down to the ground after bumping into someone.

The person he bumped into brushed themselves down and apologised.

"My apologies, I...Felix?"

Felix looked up at the person he bumped into and immediately groaned. "Boar."

It was Dimitri that he had bumped into.

Sylvain went silent, not really knowing what to say when it came to His Highness.

Dimitri offered his hand to Felix to help him up but Felix rejected it.

"Oh Dimitri. It is nice to...er nice to be seeing you here. Would you perhaps like to go with us to the marketplace?" Petra asked.

Felix's frown deepened when Petra asked.

"Well I am free now but... mind if I ask why are you all going to the marketplace?" Dimitri asked.

"We are getting a birthday present for Annette. Her birthday is in two days." Byleth clarified.

Dimitri's eye lit up a bit. "I see. I was thinking about getting her something soon also, but I wasn't sure when. Though I'm not sure if I should go because I really don't want to get in the way."

"How are you in the way? Just walk beside us." Petra understood him literally and made space for him.

"You're not in the way Dimitri so don't worry about it." Byleth reassures him.

Dimitri felt a little less tense. "Ok, then um...I'll go with you all."

"Do you have a hood though? And you know how to ride a horse right?" Byleth asked.

"I do not have a hood on me right now but I do know how to ride a horse." Dimitri nodded.

"Oh then I'll run to go get one for you then!" Petra ran away from the four to go to her quarters.

The four of them were alone with one another and it was a bit awkward.

"Professor, are you going to ride on the same horse as Petra?" Sylvain asked.

Byleth nodded. "Yes as you know, I can't ride horses at all."

"You can't?" Dimitri didn't expect that.

Byleth shook her head. "No."

"Hmm do you want to?"

"...Kind of yes."

"Well I don't know when but I could...would you like me to teach you someday?"

Byleth stared at him, surprised. "Wait really? Is that ok?"

"Of course."

"Ok then, sure. Not now though." Byleth smiled a bit.

Dimitri chuckled at that response. "I wasn't planning to do it now, it would be rather difficult."

"Indeed and hey, maybe I could help you try handling dishes again." Byleth joked.

Dimitri felt embarrassed. "That will take a while or perhaps forever."

"I am returning!" Petra runs up to the four and hands Dimitri a hood.

"You have my thanks Petra." Dimitri bowed.

"It was nothing to give thanks for. Should we go?" Petra turns towards Byleth and the others.

Byleth looked at Sylvain, Felix and Dimitri. "Are you all ready?"

They all nodded but there was a slight hesitation when doing so.

"Alright, let's get moving then." Byleth gave Petra an approving look.

Petra nodded and off they went.

\-----

After a short time, they finally made it to the marketplace.

Everyone but Petra seemed fascinated. They had never been to this market before and in fact, they didn't even know it existed.

Surprisingly, there were lots of people everywhere.

But this wasn't entirely a market like Petra said it was as there were restaurants and even inns at the place.

Though despite the fact that it was crowded, it did have this charming aura to it in comparison to markets they had all been to previously.

They walked around the place, hearing various chatter that was strangely optimistic.

"Petra, is there someone who sells music things?" Felix asked out of the blue.

"I'm not sure. Why?"

Sylvain saw this as an opportunity to annoy his friend and took it. "Cause Felix wants to get a birthday present for his girlfriend Annette. That's why he is here."

Felix glared at Sylvain while the others were just confused.

"You're dating Annette?" Byleth asked, slightly excited.

"No. I don't care about that type of thing. Sylvain is just a fool but I'm sure you all knew that." Felix sighed.

It was interesting for Dimitri to see that Sylvain was teasing Felix about love, instead of him for once.

But he hadn't teased Dimitri in a while for reasons anyone could easily guess. Dimitri had been so angry and difficult for so long, no one knew how to playfully tease him without setting him off.

"Hey why don't you all come over here! I've got the most delicious freshly roasted fish skewers! Not to mention their prices are low low low!" A guy with a stall directed his voice at the five.

"Fish skewers, huh?" Byleth asked out loud.

"Roasted fish skewers? I do not know how they are tasting." Petra said.

"Oh well, I think we should get one then. I'm sure you'll like it Petra!" Byleth suggested.

"How do you know?" Sylvain asked.

"Because it’s delicious." Byleth said.

"Well leave me out. I'm going to pass on eating fish." Felix shook his head.

"Yeah I might pass too." Sylvain said.

"What about you Dimitri?" Byleth turned towards Dimitri.

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. We'll wait here while you get your food."

Byleth nodded. "Ok well let's get some then Petra."

Byleth and Petra went to the stall together to order some fish skewers.

The three guys were silent.

Dimitri sighed and finally spoke up. "I'm sorry."

They both looked at him, surprised, and didn't respond.

Dimitri spoke again. "Anything that I have done to you or said to you...especially in that argument in Lone Moon... I truly regret it. None of those awful things I said to you then were true...I am so, so sorry..."

Felix said nothing but Sylvain furrowed his eyebrows.

There was something he didn't quite understand so he confronted Dimitri. "Your Highness, I'd like to know how you realised your wrongdoings, it's just...feels a bit out of nowhere."

Dimitri didn't expect such a question from Sylvain but he didn't mind answering it at all. He might as well. "Forgive me Felix for mentioning this but I must say it... Rodrigue's sacrifice helped me snap out of my strange world of rage at first but when I saw your own rage Felix-"

"So you're pinning the blame on me huh? Pathetic." Felix snorted.

"No. I am not. Only myself because I foolishly tried to chase Edelgard after seeing how upset you were with me and because of how I failed to kill, and..." Dimitri hurried to finish "understandably so. You know how that part ended, you both were there and saw for yourselves what happened when I confused the Professor with the ghost..."

"Is...is that why you...?" asked Sylvain.

Dimitri nodded. "Yes. I mistook her as the dead. Mistook her as the very ghost that was haunting my every move"

"Who was the ghost?"

Dimitri flinched at the question and Sylvain considered he shouldn't have asked that, because it all made sense now. Dimitri was trying to kill someone else back then and not the Professor. Not to mention Dimitri had interrupted himself multiple times during that event as if something or someone else was there that was interrupting him. Yet there had been no one else there.

It also clears up that he didn't mean what he said about her and everyone else during that argument.

It made so much sense now. It made Sylvain and Felix totally relieved that Dimitri wasn't intending to kill the Professor at the time but that doesn't mean they had yet completely forgiven him, or that they trusted him entirely again yet. He must have really believed he saw and spoke to ghosts out there.

Sylvain dropped the topic and made a mental note to tell all the witnesses more clearly about that event later. "Never mind Your Highness, that's none of my business. Continue."

Dimitri felt relieved that Sylvain was being mature here and not pushing further into what happened. "My apologies...but I also must admit and come completely clean now; when I woke up back in the monastery after that incident, I lost it again and tried to go to Enbarr later that night."

"You did what?" Felix snapped.

"I know... it was foolish of me and I am ashamed of myself. The Professor stopped me that night though and guided me back into the light."

"How?" Sylvain asked.

Dimitri closed his eye as he faced upwards in the sky. "She repeated the same words Rodrigue told me. 'Live for what you believe in' and then I realised there was another way. I learned to accept support and kindness from not just Rodrigue and her, but from anyone. You all supported me and I realised I didn't need to deal with my hardships alone. You all especially Rodrigue, told me what I was doing was wrong and guided me out of it. From you all being by my side and from what you all taught me, I ended up being able to save myself. And...I owe you two a lot along with everyone else for always supporting me."

Dimitri looked back at them with a brave expression. "Now I plan to atone. Plan to do what I truly want to do and what I know is truly right. My life is my own and not the dead's. We even spoke about it the other day Felix, and you were right."

"That was quite possibly the most cheesy thing I've ever heard." Felix sighed.

"It's His Highness, Felix. He's always been cheesy like that." Sylvain joked a bit.

Sylvain looked at Dimitri more seriously now. "Listen, Your Highness, I do believe in your words andI believe that you're telling the truth but...in this case, you must also prove that in your actions. No doubt the Professor told you the same thing."

Dimitri nodded. "She did, and I understand that and I know that. I promise to show in my actions my contrition. As you know I am a man of my word when it comes to promises."

"That you are." Sylvain snickered after remembering a certain incident.

Dimitri immediately knew what Sylvain was thinking about and sighed.

"And I'm guessing you still have a little crush on the Professor, yeah?" Sylvain toyed with Dimitri.

Dimitri blushed a shade of red and looked away. "Well... I admit that it's a lot more than that now."

"Gross! You're in love?" Felix made a disgusted sound.

Dimitri felt embarrassed in front of everyone, but he was proud of his feelings now and he had finally accepted them. "I won't deny it. Yes, I am. That never changed either, it just grew deeper throughout this journey. Though I hear that you and Annette have-"

"Quiet." Felix snapped.

Sylvain laughed. "It's been a while since I've teased you about this Your Highness."

"I suppose it has." Dimitri said calmly, holding back a smile.

"Did you miss it?"

"Not really."

"Won't stop me from doing it again. Just like good ol five years ago." Sylvain laughed.

"Of course it won't stop you." Dimitri sighed but had a tiny smile on his face. It did feel a bit like old times in a way.

"Boar, you can't expect everything to go back to how it was five years ago. Sylvain, you're aware of that too I'm sure." Felix sighed.

"Yes I know. And yes I'm very aware." Dimitri nodded.

"Good. Doesn't mean I believe you though." Felix said coldly.

Dimitri accepted Felix's anger. What he had said to and/or about Felix, and everyone else in the argument two moons ago, was absolutely disgusting even if he didn't mean it.

And they were all correct, he must atone and must take true action out of his own will.

"I am returning!" Petra yelled out.

Dimitri, Felix and Sylvain turned their attention on Byleth and Petra who were walking back to them.

Byleth and Petra were holding their own bags. She must've bought her present for Annette from another stall which explains why it took them so long.

"I bought a present for Annette while I was there." Byleth said as she held her half eaten fish skewer.

"What did you get her?" Felix asked.

"A harp."

Felix seemed pleasantly surprised. "Does she play the harp?"

"She told me the other moon that she does."

"Hm. You learn something new."

"What about you Petra?" Dimitri asked.

"I got a book called "My Heartbeats For You", it's a book that Annette talked about wanting." Petra said.

"Interesting title." Sylvain didn't know how to respond to that.

"The story is about how this girl's heartbeat represents the fact that she can feel true emotions such as love. It's rather interesting from what I hear." Petra suggested.

Byleth's shoulders tensed when hearing the summary of the book, and she couldn't help but frown. No one could notice it because her hood was still over her head.

"Sounds weird but I guess it's how...heartbeats are crucial to falling in love." Sylvain joked.

That did not ease Byleth one bit.

"Well you need a beating heart to live, you know. It's literally impossible without a beating heart to live, or obviously then, to love." Felix rolled his eyes.

That stung Byleth even more.

She knew it was unintentional because none of them knew her situation, but it just confirmed her instinct to never say anything about her secret to any of them.

"Anyways, enough chat, we should get a present for Annette. Prof-" Dimitri turned towards Byleth and saw her looking uneasy.

"Hm? Sorry I was zoning out. You're right, let's head." Byleth tried to shrug it off.

And so they all travelled to the market.

And they knew they would come here again, for sure...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (Note: please keep in mind that even though the characters are being good with Dimitri, that doesn't mean they've entirely forgiven him. At least not yet. Like they said, Dimitri needs to atone and take action. Just please keep that in mind.)
> 
> Yikes quite the chapter oof. I know it wasn’t my personal best or even that good at all I’ll admit that but I still worked really hard on it. Now I’m tired because it’s late where I am and I woke up early again for no reason!  
> Also random to say this but can I just say that listening to the ost relating to villages and towns from the game Octopath Traveler was really useful in this chapter? No doubt, I'll listen to that again in the future for other chapters. ...Though I should probably play more of that game now that I think of it oops...
> 
> Anyways stupid ramblings aside, I don't have good news unfortunately and I'm even going to make this announcement to my followers too. Unfortunately, I will not be active as much. Like once a week even and when I am active, it's for a short time. I might read fanfics but that's all. There are two reasons. One, exams. Now, I'm not going to reveal what kind of exams these are because that will reveal my age and I don't feel comfortable revealing that yet but I'll just say that I must make them my main priority.
> 
> And second...oh boy. So, I have not been myself lately. I have been so much more anxious than I ever have and it's about everything. I'm panicking over literally everything and I don't actually know why. It's really hard to explain how it feels because I don't have a good understanding of it myself at all.
> 
> So I think in order to get my feelings together, I need to be on social media less (only for now) and try to find the reason. I know it's stupid and it makes no sense maybe but I kind of suck explaining how I feel so maybe I should change this author's note in the future?
> 
> All I can say is that I apologise for not being able to write any more chapters for the time being. I won't write any new chapters at all until around November 12th. That's all I can say. I'm so sorry, I know it's selfish of me but I can't write the next few chapters for this fanfic at my current state.


	93. Out of the Blue

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter 17 and takes place before chapter 18. Takes place after “Forgiveness and Troubles” part and takes place after “Suspenseful Shopping” part. Takes place on the fourteenth of Harpstring Moon. Takes place after and references Ashe and Caspar’s A Support.

\-----

_When Byleth was finally satisfied with catching the right amount of fish - the amount Flayn requested - she immediately went to go and look for Flayn._

She asked around beforehand where Flayn was and she was apparently seen heading off to the second floor, so Byleth made her way up there.

When she made it up the stairs, she assumed that Flayn was in the audience chamber so she walked there first thing while carrying a bag filled with fish.

However when she arrived there, the chamber was empty.

“Hmm...maybe she’s in Seteth’s office.” She said to herself out loud.

She then turned around to go south to see if Flayn was there.

Byleth peeked her head out the doorway but Flayn wasn’t there either.

She turned back and made her way to the cardinals’ room since that was the only place she could think of.

As she walked closer to the room, she checked the bag; the fish were rustling around in there.

Then unexpectedly she heard voices through the walls.

“How many soldiers can we truly predict?”

This sounded like Annette.

Byleth being curious, walked faster and poked her head from the entrance of the cardinals’ room to see what was going on.

To her relief, Flayn was indeed there but not alone.

Gilbert, Annette, Dimitri, Alois, Ingrid, Caspar, Felix, Ashe and Shamir were all there too.

She placed the bag of fish on the ground next to her to focus on what they were talking about.

“I cannot guarantee the numbers even if I once was living there. I have no idea what Cornelia has done concerning them.” Dimitri sighed.

Gilbert nodded at Dimitri’s comment. “Indeed. There is no telling what has happened but it is a likely scenario that Cornelia has more soldiers, considering the empire.”

“You know boar, I’ve been meaning to ask you this about the mission.” Felix crossed his arms.

All the attention moved to Felix.

And while they focussed on Felix, no one caught a certain animal jumping out of Ashe’s bag. The animal then walked towards Byleth.

“What will be the main objective? To kill all of the soldiers on the battlefield?” Felix said in his pushy, cold tone.

Dimitri shook his head immediately. “No. All I ask that you all stay alive and win this battle. There is no point in any needless deaths for both armies. While the Professor will be commanding the army again, I will remind her that the most important thing is to win without loss of life - because that’s all I ask. I hope that makes sense.”

Byleth overhearing this, blinked at his proposal, she didn’t know he wanted less loss of lives in _both_ armies..

Part of her wasn’t sure if she agreed with this idea because it was not an easy strategy; but at the same time, she realised he was committed to caring about the lives of soldiers, and this was Dimitri himself talking, not the ghosts that haunted him - he was making his own opinions known, not the thoughts and revenge of the dead ...Byleth was happy about this, and also very relieved.

Was that type of planning what his heart wanted this whole time?

Byleth wasn’t the only one in the room who was confused about the change in Dimitri.

“You are aware of the issues surrounding that, correct?” Shamir frowned.

“I’m not unaware of how complicated it will be but I still want to save as many soldiers as possible. I’ll admit that it isn’t easy and we must focus on what needs done to win rather than what my wish, but I would like to try at the very least. I suggest for us all to follow our own hearts.” Dimitri nodded.

“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” Alois said out loud in that very light-hearted tone he uses.

“Not surprising that you are ok with this.” Shamir turned towards him.

“Well, we still need to keep in mind what the enemy has in mind.” Ingrid frowned.

“That’s fair. Cornelia is an unpredictable enemy to face.” Dimitri agreed.

“That just means I gotta train harder! We’re not going to go down easily, right Dimitri?” Caspar raised his fist in the air joyfully.

Dimitri smiled at his enthusiasm.

Gilbert crossed his arms. “Is that all you came here to ask His Highness?”

Dimitri looked at Gilbert, not entirely comfortable with how he had just spoken towards everyone, but Flayn was quick to jump in.

Flayn shook her head. “Yes it is! We-”

“Actually no it isn’t.” Shamir interrupted Flayn.

Everyone looked at Shamir, not understanding at all what she was about to say.

Shamir looked at Alois and mouthed something that he understood immediately.

“Ah yes, I almost forgot too. It’s about the mission that the Professor talked about us going on. Gilbert, are you aware of those she chose to go on that mission?” Alois asked Gilbert.

Byleth’s shoulders tensed immediately when he asked that.

Dimitri, along with everyone else excluding Alois, Gilbert and Shamir, had no idea what he was talking about. “Pardon me...mission?”

Byleth wanted to slap herself.

She forgot to tell them all about the mission of taking down four bandit bases and that they’ll be gone for a few days because of it. She hadn’t told the others yet.

Three quarters of the army, including Dimitri, were not chosen to go.

However she had forgotten to tell those who were not included that they were not part of the team.

Alois bit his lip. “What do you mean? Your Highness, there is a mission in a couple of days involving the Professor, Shamir and I. Though I don’t doubt you are going with us too.”

“No this is the first I heard of such a thing. Were any of you aware?” Dimitri asked.

“I wasn’t either.” Felix pointed out, frowning at that fact himself.

“No…” Ashe commented.

Byleth then felt something very soft on her leg which gave her a tiny fright. She looked down to see a…

A cat…?

With...one of the fish she caught in its mouth…?!?!

There were cats and dogs all around the monastery so it wasn’t unusual to see one, but she never encountered one on the second floor or anything like that.

Byleth tried to grab the fish back, but the cat ran inside the cardinals’ room.

She recklessly rushed to go after it.

“When is this mission Alois?” Ingrid asked.

“Well it’s-”

“Meow-meow-meow”

Everyone turned towards the cat with a fish in it’s mouth.

“Hey! Give that back!” Byleth yelled out as she chased it into the room.

“P-professor?” Ingrid was the first person to say something.

Ashe and Caspar stood with odd expressions.

“Is this your cat?” Felix asked, a lot more curiously than one would expect.

“Um..no I...I don’t know whose cat this is but the fish it has in its mouth was what I was trying, to give to Flayn.” Byleth stumbled upon her words, not really knowing how to properly word her own sentence.

“Caspar! How did that cat get here?” Ashe asked, with a bit furious tone in his voice.

Caspar talked back. “I don’t know?! Did he jump in your bag?”

“No he- ...Well, maybe, it was heavier than normal.” Ashe blushed slightly.

“Is this your cat?” Byleth asked.

Ashe frowned slightly. “In a way. We just look after him because we don’t want him stealing anymore food.”

“Professor! The cat already ate the entire fish!” Flayn said in a distressed tone.

Byleth looked at the cat and frowned slightly when she saw that the fish was already eaten, just as Flayn had said.

“Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow!”

Byleth looked at the cat again and realised...how adorable it was.

Everyone else just stared at the cat while Ashe gently picked him up.

“S-sorry!” Ashe quickly apologised.

“We’ll...uh be right back.” Caspar laughed nervously.

Felix looked disappointed, as if he wanted to pat the cat himself but, obviously, he didn’t say that.

Ashe and Caspar left the room without saying anything else.

Although they were heard bickering a little bit after they left the room.

The room was silent until Flayn spoke up. “Um so Professor, do you have anymore fish?”

Byleth looked at Flayn and nodded. “Oh yes. I left them near the doorway. You can take them now if you want.”

Flayn grinned. “Thank you for catching these, although…”

“I will catch more don’t worry.” Byleth brushed it off.

“Hooray! Well thank you!” Flayn celebrated and ran off holding the bag of fish, with a hungry expression.

Byleth turned towards the others, a little nervous. “...Was I disturbing this meeting?”

Alois slightly chuckled. “I wouldn’t call this a _meeting_ per say, we all had some questions to ask His Highness, but now we’re just abo-”

“Actually you came at the perfect time. It seems not many people are aware of the mission on the 25th.” Shamir pointed out.

Byleth closed her eyes. “Oh...yeah. I apologise, I must’ve forgotten to bring it up.”

“That’s kind of irresponsible, how would you forget that?” Ingrid exclaimed, irritated.

It sounded rude but she wasn’t wrong.

“I’m...not sure. But what was it you were going to say, Shamir?” Byleth decided not to mention she had been eavesdropping at the time. It wasn’t the right moment.

She could feel the irritation directed at her for forgetting such an important piece of information.

However, she ignored it.

“I was asking who was going.” Shamir asked.

“Uh...you, me, Alois, Catherine, Petra, Marianne, Seteth, Raphael and Hanneman.” Byleth said.

People in the room were surprised at the choice of people she picked.

Felix frowned. “So what is this mission meant to be?”

“As previously stated, this mission is taking down four bandit bases that have been terrorising civilians. However, since they are scattered in a certain area, we will be setting up camp and be gone for three days.” Alois commented.

A lot of the people in the room felt alarmed by this mission. It sounded quite risky and dangerous considering they will have to take down a lot of enemies since bases like those normally have more than ten strong bandits.

Ingrid spoke out her concerns first. “Professor, I don’t mean to sound demanding but this mission may need to require more of us to go with-”

Byleth shook her head. “No. You the rest of you need to remain in the monastery and take care of your wounds while being prepared for the upcoming battle afterwards.”

Ingrid sighed. “Ok then… I understand but you have to be careful. You all must be.”

Dimitri was tempted to say something but...he just couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud…

The room was silent until Alois finally spoke up. “Well, I believe we all have asked the questions we needed to ask. I shall make my leave.”

Alois left along with most of the others.

Even Gilbert left and Byleth tried to leave also.

“Professor…”

Byleth stood still as she heard Dimitri call her; she turned around.

It was just the two of them there now.

“Yes?” Byleth tilted her head.

“I...I know you said you wanted us to prepare for the battle ahead, but I believe at least myself and two more should go with you. That mission is risky, I don’t want anything to happen.”

Byleth frowned. “I appreciate your concern but you need to not underesti-”

Dimitri shook his head, petrified that she misunderstood. “No! I didn’t mean it like that! I don’t doubt your strength for a second! I mean… I’m just worried about you and everyone. I want to come with you so I can-”

“Dimitri, I’m sorry but I can’t take you with us. Your wounds from Gronder Field are still bad and no offence but they’ll mean more bad than good. I also haven’t quite forgiven you for everything yet…”

“Also...I don’t think you should participate in battles at the moment.” Byleth added.

Dimitri blinked at that last sentence so Byleth elaborated. “I mean...a lot is going on and I just don’t think it would be good for you and most of the others to fight in the battlefield right now. I think you just all need to stop fighting during this moon, at least until the real battle occurs.”

Dimitri grasped what she meant, he wanted to protest but...he couldn’t because she was right. These past few events have just been horrifying for him and fighting in battles always makes it worse for him.

So he appreciated that she considered his situation, even though she hasn’t fully forgiven him.

“I..I get it. I...please don’t die!” He blurted out instinctively.

“I won’t. I promise you that I won’t die.” Byleth smiled, seeing how worried he was and sensed how worried he must have always been.

Byleth looked straight at him. “Just promise to keep living for what you believe in… ok?”

Dimitri nodded and she smiled widely at him - which had him smile again.

Her smiles were always super effective in that way...

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now the cat in this part will be back again, just wanted to say that first time aha.
> 
> Anyways, Long time no see guys! I’ve returned my hiatus and now I’ll be trying to update this book once or more a week just like I did before. I’ve honestly missed writing for this fanfic so much.
> 
> I worked really hard on this chapter but even so yes I’m aware it’s not the best chapter though I promise you that it sets up some future chapters that’ll be effective. I will write more pre timeskip chapters too while also writing chapters that take place during this moon and before chapter 18.
> 
> Now this author’s note is going to be embarrassingly long, sorry lol. I just wanted to ask you all something.
> 
> Now, I wanted to ask you all this. Last month, I missed Dimileth week and I want to make up for it (excluding some dimitri week prompts that I may write in my personal book) so I’d like to ask you guys this. I plan on writing a shorter dimileth fanfic that’s around 8-16 chapters. I’ve already written drafts for two and I’m curious to see what you guys would like to see the most!
> 
> A dimileth modern au that has a school play? There will be a bit of world building and Sothis is actually going to be a student who is close with Byleth! The book’s title will be “Tale As Old As Time” which spoils the title of the play that’s chosen aha. Yes, the school play I was planning for it to be from the beginning was indeed Beauty and The Beast lol. I think you can guess who will be play as belle and the beast but I plan to make Felix get the part of Cogsworth in the play, Sylvain gets Lumiere, Annette will get Ms pots and basically all of the blue lion students will get a role which is how they get closer. Now I’ll admit, this story is a bit cliched but it’s all just for fun in the end and not something to take too seriously. It’s something that I definitely will try my best in and researching for it will be annoying because I plan to use the scripts that schools used in real life (if you don’t know, the script and some scenes are different when schools act it out) but it will be most like the original movie too because the original is a personal favourite movie of mine.
> 
> Or a Dimileth fantasy au? I’m going to try and keep it brief. The title for it right now is “Lily of the Nile” but it’s possible for it to change. It is set in fe3h world but has some changes done on it, mainly being about the characters. I got the idea to do this kind of story from playing games like Yonder, My Time at Portia and many other farming sims that allow you to explore and forage. All of the characters, excluding a few, all live in Remire village and live different lives and roles. Byleth in this story, is an emotionless monster hunter (but she shows more emotions as time goes on and even falls in love because of you know who) that protects the village from serious threats but gets distracted easily due to surroundings (she is still cautious though). She loves crafting, fishing and foraging materials whenever it is possible and Jeralt will be the chief of the village. Characters have various roles such as Ashe and Dedue run their own restaurant in the town, Dorothea and Manuela love to perform plays and musicals for the town especially in festivals, Leonie, Petra and Felix are monster hunters too and Leonie tries to compete with Byleth sometimes etc. I won’t say too much else but other than the fact that it’s a dimileth au and I had admittedly too much fun planning it bahaha. The only problem I have with it is that it feels a bit similar to another dimileth au I’m planning (the meeting is similar etc) but I can try and fix that. Like I said, one of the main reasons I’d like to do a short story is just for fun.
> 
> Anyways I’m going to say that I am definitely leaning towards the second one but I will love to do either. I worked hard on them both and I really want to know which one you guys would rather read! Regardless of which one picked, that doesn’t mean the other will be scrapped, I just most likely will do it far later. But yeah, please comment which one you would rather see the most!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all not too long from now ;)


	94. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I just wanted to address an issue I put in the previous chapter. I accidentally added Dorothea in the list of people that were going to the mission when I meant to write Marianne instead. My total bad on that. :/
> 
> But yeah anyways, here is a more emotional chapter. Both Byleth and Dimitri might be a bit ooc but that’s sort of the point. I haven’t written a chapter like Heartbreaking Tears in forever so I’m glad to write this one(:

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter 17 and takes place before chapter 18. Takes place after “Forgiveness & Troubles” part, “Suspenseful Shopping” part and “Out of the Blue” part. Takes place on the 19th of Harpstring Moon. Recommended for you to read “Heartbbreaking Tears” part and “Conflict in the Rain” part.

\-----

_Dimitri didn’t hesitate to go and take care of the horses on his own in Ingrid’s stead_

He had been helping her with the horses again like he used to back in the officers’ academy whenever she needed it.

However Ingrid was busy today so Dimitri took care of the horses himself.

When he was at the stables, he looked after the horses as he normally did.

“Neigh-neigh”

Dimitri smiled at the horse and rubbed its head which made the horse even happier.

He guided it back inside the stables so that the final horse could rest.

With that, he was finally finished and looked outside to see that it was pouring with rain.

Dimitri mumbled to himself as he tried to find the right opportunity to run to the closest indoor shelter, which was the entrance to the Knight’s Hall. “When Ingrid is finished with her paperwork, I should tell her how the horses are doing.”

Unfortunately for Dimitri, The rain got worse and he sighed.

**_“ F O O L “_ **

Dimitri heard his father’s voice in his head and slightly shivered. It was loud and haunting.

But he tried to be brave while listening to it.

He ran outside and tried to get to the entrance of the knights’ hall where there was a roof in the monastery.

He saw there were candles lit up inside of the knights’ hall and it also seemed that the fire was on despite there being no one there.

When he made his way to the entrance, he sighed in relief and turned to go inside until he caught a tiny glimpse of the colour of green in the corner of his eye from the left direction.

He stood still and looked towards that direction and tried to see the person who was standing a bit far away.

It was Byleth, standing out in the rain.

She seemed...heartbroken.

In fact, it reminded Dimitri when he saw her in the rain around two moons ago.

She looked miserable back then too.

And...it reminded him of when she cried in his arms after her father died.

Dimitri’s heart hurt seeing her like that.

He couldn’t stand it.

He knew it could be considered wrong but he just had to check on her.

See if she was ok.

“Professor!”

Byleth seemed startled and she looked around where she was.

She then turned towards him and seemed surprised. She ran up to him.

“D-Dimitri what are you doing out here?! It’s raining! You’ll get a cold!” Byleth said to him.

Dimitri said nothing as he wondered.

Was Byleth trying to hide her emotions?

He spoke softly to her. “Professor I… are you ok?”

Byleth’s body twitched and Dimitri noticed.

She nodded. “What do you mean?”

“I saw you… out here on your own. You looked...down.”

Byleth said nothing and tried to look away but Dimitri continued to speak. “Professor please...I hope you know that you don’t have to pretend to feel something you don’t feel. Of course you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me but...I’m here for you. I still mean what I said a few years ago, you know.”

Byleth opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about in that last sentence but she realised what it was he meant.

When her father died, he told her that she didn’t have to pretend to be okay when she wasn’t and that she could be herself with him.

What Dimitri did for her throughout that moon was be there for her...and she would always appreciate that.

She knew she couldn’t tell him everything she felt right now.

But maybe she could tell him about...the other thing.

Byleth said nothing, she couldn’t find the words.

Dimitri accepted her silence and spoke softly to her. “Professor, we should go indoors. You shouldn’t be out here in the rain, I’ll take you to the knights’ hall, ok?”

Byleth slowly nodded and took hold of Dimitri’s hand.

Dimitri was surprised but he said nothing and gently took her to the knights’ hall without hesitating.

\-----

Byleth sat on the small sofa placed in front of the fireplace and she said nothing. She had no emotion on her face whatsoever.

“Are you cold?” Dimitri asked her in case the fire wasn’t really warming her up from the freezing cold from outside.

“A bit.” Byleth finally spoke admitting a small vulnerability.

To her surprise Dimitri took off his blue coat and put it over her shoulders gently.

There was a small pause until Dimitri sat beside her on the small sofa, and continued speaking in his gentle tone. “Professor...how are you feeling now?”

Byleth looked at him with a small but genuine smile. “Better. Thank you.”

She took a deep breath as the heavy blue coat, still on her shoulders, rose up and down. “I’ve just been thinking...about-”

She stopped herself...and continued. “I was thinking about the people I killed.”

Dimitri let out a gasp but she continued. “All the people I killed both in war and outside of war. I just wish that...stuff, things didn’t have to come to that. Why is Fodlan such a cruel place?”

Dimitri had no words…

Byleth still spoke her own thoughts out loud. “It’s funny...here I am... An ex-mercenary that once didn’t think of it is now fully concerned about these things. I know, I shouldn’t be thinking about myself and my own wishes involving the peace in this place.”

Dimitri could see how she was holding back and how shattered she seemed about it.

He wanted to scold his past self of five years ago for ever thinking she was incapable of emotion or had a lack of care for those she has killed.

So...Dimitri couldn’t resist hugging her.

He knew he didn't have the right to hug her or even to feel the way he did towards her after all they’d been through...but...he couldn’t help it.

Byleth accepted his hug and hugged him back.

She even cried a little.

“I’m sorry Professor...I’m so sorry…” Dimitri said under his breath.

“Why are you apologising? It’s not your fault. You never had control over what I’m doing on the battlefield even in the war.”

They both stayed silent for a short while until Dimitri broke out of the hug, looked directly at Byleth and spoke again. “Professor, I must tell you that I want to restore true peace to Fodlan. I will do this even if it costs me my own life. Now seeing you like this tells me that not only must I do it for my own sake and the army’s sake but also for yours too.”

Byleth blinked at him.

Then she smiled at him.

And it was a true genuine smile.

“And I promise to help you achieve it.”

Dimitri smiled back. “Listen Professor, if you ever feel like you need anyone to talk to, I’m here. Or if you prefer there is the army too. We are all here for you no matter what.”

Byleth nodded.

Sure, she still hadn’t let go of what happened with Dimitri and she hadn’t forgiven him yet at that moment, she felt happy to tell him her concerns, it calmed her a little.

She was also glad that she didn’t have to feel regretful for something like talking to him, her friend, about any worries she has...

She slightly glanced to her left to see that it was still pouring with rain outside.

“And Professor, I still degrade myself for hurting-“

“Dimitri you were cold and frustrating to deal with but you didn’t hurt me so stop saying that.” Byleth said truthfully.

**_“ L I E S ”_ **

Dimitri turned to his right to see Glenn, crossing his arms furiously.

Byleth noticed their eye contact and her smile disappeared.

“Dimitri?”

Dimitri turned towards her again. “Sorry, I spaced out.”

“...is that really what happened?” Byleth gave him a look.

But he couldn’t hide from her.

It made him feel pathetic but he knew he couldn’t lie like that anymore.

“No it’s...Glenn.” Dimitri sighed.

Byleth looked at him. “Did he say something to you?”

“He chanted “LIES” and I think he is telling me that you’re lying.” Dimitri confessed.

Byleth frowned but Dimitri spoke first. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be distracted when you need me.”

“That’s something you can’t help. The voices and the dead are in your head but that doesn’t mean you have full control over your own mind. I don’t have control of my own thoughts either but you being here cheered me up.” Byleth said.

Byleth shook her head. “Though, the ghost is wrong because I did mean what I said before.”

Dimitri looked back at her and nodded. “And you just being there for me has always cheered me up…so I wasn’t lying about that either”

Byleth smiled and giggled. “Then let’s always be there for one another when we’re down and need someone, ok?”

Dimitri smiled as she truly went back to her happy self - which relieved him.

Her smile was...so mesmerising and enchanting.

“Professor your smile...is contagious.” Dimitri said without thinking.

Byleth kept smiling even though she didn’t understand what he meant. “How so?”

“I guess suffice for me to say - I love your true smile. It’s beautiful and I love how I feel when I see you smile.”

Byleth wasn’t expecting that answer.

She felt...shy after hearing that.

She was...so happy to hear such a thing but more happy that it came from him.

Yet she didn’t understand why.

Dimitri realised he had said what he was thinking out loud and blushed when he saw her own red face. Dimitri spoke again,“S-sorry! That may have sounded cheesy. Felix and Sylvain always point out when I’m being too cheesy for my own good. But I definitely mean it”

Byleth said nothing, she felt something in her chest race.

She didn’t know what it was.

“A-anyways Professor, thank you for being here with me.”

Byleth said nothing, just stared at him.

She blinked and stumbled upon her own words. “Oh oh yes! Um of course! Thank you for cheering me up Dimitri!”

Byleth was weirded out by a strange sensation internally, a strange surge of joy yet also a feeling of nervousness

_“Just what was that…?”_

\-----


	95. Saint Macuil Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yikes this update is much later than I said it would be. I don’t really have a good excuse. I lost my computer for a few days which is what I usually write chapters on since I dislike using my phone to write for whatever reason so I couldn’t do much but hey I found my computer again yay! But yeah, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to delay this chapter as far as I did.
> 
> Anyways this chapter is more light-hearted. Dorothea might be a bit ooc in this and I’m sorry about that. I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot but I’m not sure if you all will like it or not. I know I’m not very confident in my writing which is something I really need to get over. Regardless, I hope you like this chapter and please let me know if there is anything in the chapter I did wrong. (There’s also a reference to a vocal song from another game that I haven’t even finished that I put in this chaptie, try to catch it(: )

\-----

Post timeskip, takes place after chapter 17 and takes place before chapter 18. Takes place after the “Forgiveness & Troubles” part, “Suspenseful Shopping” part, “Out of the Blue” part and “Storm” part. Takes place on the 21st of Harpstring Moon. Recommended for you to read the “Voice” part, “Humour” part, “Tea party” part, “The Argument in the Lions Den” part and “Saint Indech Day” part.

\-----

_Today was Saint Macuil day which had Byleth, Annette, Mercedes and Dorothea come up to the Cathedral to sing a recital for it that morning._

They both agreed beforehand and after Byleth woke up the trio Mercedes, Dorothea and Annette, they started to head up to the cathedral in the early morning to join the rest of the choir.

As soon as they reached the reception hall, Annette started up a new conversation.

“Professor, we should have another tea party after this!” She said excitedly.

“That’s a marvelous idea Annie! Professor, Dorothea, what do you think?” Mercedes asked.

Byleth looked up at Annette. “That sounds nice. I’m happy to do it. We can do it in my room if you’d like.”

Annette let out a slight excited squeal in response to Byleth’s answer. “Hooray! Dorothea, would you like to join us for a tea party?”

“Yeah Sure!” Dorothea said in a cheery tone, she had been on a tea party with Byleth in the past and absolutely wouldn’t mind doing so again.

Byleth was relieved to see Dorothea genuinely more happy and bright again.

Dorothea then quickly realised something when thinking about their question more thoroughly. “Hold on a minute! Annie, Mercie...did you both give Bylie the idea to have tea parties?”

“...Um...Who’s Bylie?” Mercedes asked.

Byleth jumped in “Me. To answer for them Dorothea, yes. They did. Thank you both again for inviting me that day.” Byleth said without hesitation as they all walked towards the entrance of the Cathedral.

Mercedes softly chuckled. “You don’t need to thank us for that.”

Annette giggled. “After all, the-”

Annette cut herself off when she walked inside the cathedral and caught a glimpse of two people who were sitting in there.

The choir was there but so was Alois and Dimitri who were sitting down in the chairs nearby. They both looked exhausted.

Mercedes followed Annette’s eyes and saw Alois and Dimitri.

Byleth and Dorothea finally noticed too.

Before they could do anything, one of the choir’s singers looked at the four then at Alois and Dimitri and opened his mouth. “They’re here, you can ask them.”

Byleth didn’t know what to say and went over to them, along with Dorothea, Mercedes and Annette. “Alois? Dimitri? Is there something wrong?”

Dimitri was surprised to see the four of them, he didn’t realise they were part of the recital but he didn’t say this out loud.

Alois cheerfully shook his head. “Nope, we were just wondering if we could join you all singing the recital!”

“Wait did you both know that we were doing this?” Annette asked.

Dimitri shook his head. “No. We woke up early to get in some early training and we took a break. Alois saw the choir and asked them about what they were doing and they told us about the recital. They wanted whoever the one who set it up to be ok with us singing with you all in the recital. My apologies, I’m aware that this is...a bit random.”

“Quit being so formal and apologising your Highness! Sure, you interrupted the recital on Saint Indech Day but that was moons ago! That doesn’t mean you can’t ever sing the recital with anyone again! If you want to sing, you have the right to ask!” Alois patted Dimitri on the back.

Dimitri didn’t look like he agreed with Alois’s words but he didn’t protest and he even threw a slight grateful smile at him.

Byleth smiled. “I don’t necessarily mind you joining us. How about you guys?”

Mercedes quickly spoke. “I don’t mind either.”

Dorothea frowned a bit. “...I suppose I don’t mind but don’t try and do anything bad.”

“I promise I will not.”

“Then I guess I have no objections.”

“Neither do I.” Annette commented.

Dimitri softly smiled in a grateful way. “Thank you.”

Alois laughed. “Thank you guys! Now what song are we singing?”

“This one.” One of the choir members handed over booklets with lyrics on them.

Annette read the title of the song and she gasped in awe. “Oh wow! I know this song!”

“Oh I love this one!” Dorothea seemed to have recognised it too.

“See Professor, I knew this song would be perfect!” Mercedes giggled.

“Oh? Did you suggest this to the professor?” Alois asked.

Mercedes nodded. “Yes I did.”

“That was a clever idea Mercedes.” Dimitri commented.

“Thank you! I’m quite fond of the song myself.” Mercedes smiled.

“Ahem! Should we…?” One of the choir members butted in.

“...Oh yes of course.” Byleth cleared her throat and went to talk to the choir members.

Meanwhile...Dimitri’s voices in his head were going crazy again to his dismay...

However, he didn’t cover his ears. He allowed them to bombard his mind.

They were most likely going to do that entire recital, making it impossible for him to hear any of the singers even if they were talented professionals like Dorothea.

**_“ P A T H E T I C “_ **

“One...Two...Three…” One of the choir members signalled.

_“♪On an ocean of Stars…♪”_

**_“ A V E N G E “_** The voices chanted hauntingly in his ears and mind.

Dimitri bit his lip, it was hard to concentrate on singing with the voices trying to be louder than his own.

_“♪Lo, an angel they see♪”_

**_“ S T O P “_ **

_“♪Untouched by the war that they waged♪”_

**_“ R E V E N G E “_ **

**_“_ ** _♪Laid low by their scars♪_

**_“ G E T H E R H E A D “_ **

_“♪A people-......Bu-”_

**_“ C O W A R D “_ **

Dimitri wondered that perhaps him joining the recital wasn’t such a great idea after all…

**_“ K I L L “_ **

The voices of the dead tried to cover the voices of the living.

But...then something happened…

He could hear someone’s voice in the choir loud and clearly again.

And this wasn’t the first time this voice was louder than the cries of the dead.

_“♪Seek what lies beyond this dark age♪”_

That voice again…

Dimitri looked up as he saw the person’s voice that belonged to start to sing the chorus.

Byleth. It was her.

Her voice and words were drowning out the voices of the dead.

She wasn’t a professional singer like Dorothea or Annette nor was she even as loud as some of the singers here.

Yet...He could hear her the most clearly…

He couldn’t help but smile at her as she sang so beautifully...

_“♪The seasons they turn, winter to spring♪”_

_“♪Dulling the pain and erasing the sting♪”_

The voices of the dead were much quieter when Dimitri listened to Byleth’s voice.

_“♪The Seasons turn, summer to fall♪”_

Byleth started to smile more when she sang the next line which had Dimitri’s heart race even more.

_“♪Time’s warm embrace begins to heal all♪_

Everyone let out a breath since there was a pause in that song after that line.

Byleth put her hair back but accidentally nudged Dorothea with her elbow since she was standing beside her.

Dorothea flinched and looked at Byleth but Byleth hadn’t even noticed she’d touched her.

Dorothea shrugged it off as she prepared for the next line...

Until she then caught a glimpse of Dimitri gently smiling at a certain someone as they started to sing.

_“♪On the wild at first light♪”_

Dorothea noticed the way the smile looked…

It wasn’t a stupid smile that Dorothea used to receive when she was an opera singer when the nobles tried to court her falling for her looks and voice.

_“♪The jasper lion will run♪”_

Instead it was...the smile of someone who was truly in love with the person they were listening to sing.

_“♪Hark an anthem he drums, can you hear?♪”_

Dorothea smiled as she realised she could confirm Dimitri’s true feelings for Byleth once and for all.

Dimitri’s eye caught Dorothea staring at him with a smile.

Instead of singing the next line, Dorothea silently mouthed and even subtly did charades _“I know you're listening to her sing, you love her don’t you?”_

Dimitri chuckled a bit when he understood what she meant and accidentally spoke out loud. “You caught me, I do indeed.”

Everyone in the choir stopped singing and stared at Dimitri as he realised that he accidentally said that out loud.

He looked away embarrassed as Dorothea gasped and looked like she was about to laugh.

“Who caught you doing what? What did you do?” One of the members said.

“M-my apologies! I accidentally...er said my thoughts out loud..” Dimitri blushed a bit.

Dorothea put her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t had the feeling to laugh like this in a long time.

“Why are you thinking of other things in this recital?!?!” Another choir member was not impressed.

Dimitri cleared his throat, stuck in a situation. There was absolutely no way he could say what actually happened.

He prayed to the goddess internally that Dorothea wouldn’t say what happened either.

Luckily for him though, she stayed silent...clearly resisting the urge to laugh.

“I’m sorry, I realise that was foolish of me. I won’t make that mistake again.” Dimitri apologised.

“Should we go from where we left off?” Mercedes asked.

“I think we should redo the first chorus.” One of the choir members said.

“I agree. Alright, get ready everyone.” Byleth nodded.

“I apologise for this Professor.” Dimitri said again.

“No worries. Anyways let’s start….”

Dorothea still had her fist over her mouth as she was trying really hard to not burst out laughing.

Dimitri sighed, he knew that she was always going to remember this.

But it didn’t necessarily matter.

_“♪The seasons they turn, winter to spring♪”_

He closed his eyes as he listened to the voice of the living.

Perhaps the most important and beloved person to him was right there - the person that the strong voice belonged to.

He really did love her, there was no doubt about it.

And he knew that it won’t change.

\-----


End file.
